Albino
A surname from a name or nickname built on the Latin word for “white” or “fair.”
The #9,418 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,414 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Albino ultimately comes from Latin albus, meaning “white” or “bright.” In surname use it may reflect a personal name, a nickname for a fair-haired or pale person, or, in some families, a form influenced by place-names and saint-names beginning with Alb- or St. Aubyn/St. Albino. The historical evidence here is not fully consistent, so the safest summary is that it belongs to the broad family of names built on the “white/fair” root.
History
The name appears in medieval European records in forms linked to St. Albino or St. Aubyn in Normandy, and later survives in English and American usage. In the United States it is uncommon, with some bearers likely descending from immigrant families rather than from one single origin. Older writers also used Albino as a label in broader social lists, which can make the surname look more common in historical texts than it really was.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval Norman place called St. Albino near Évreux is one historical source that helped keep this name visible in later surname studies.
From the historical record
“loc. n., Worcest. St Aubyn. From St Albino, near Evreux, Norm. Granted tithes to St Taurin, Evr. 980. Witness found, chart. Barn¬ staple Abbey, temp. Will. I.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)