Albyn is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Albyn family lived in Normandy where it was derived from the ancient English given name Albin, meaning white.
The surname Albyn was first found in St. Taurin, Evreux, Normandy, in the year 980, as St. Aubyn. This distinguished name arrived with the Conqueror through Sir John Aubyn, and settled in Barnstaple in Devon, where he became a patron of Barnstable Abbey. The family were granted many estates and they were recorded under the name Alban in the Domesday Book.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Albyn research. More information is included under the topic Early Albyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Albone, Allibone, Hallibone, Albin, Allbahn, Alibone, Allbones, Allbone, Alban, Aubyn, Aubyn, Aubin, Auban, Ellibone, Elbin, Ellban, Ellbone and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Allibond (1597-1658), Master of Magdalen College School; Peter Allibond (1560-1629), an English translator of theological treatises from the French and Latin; Henry Albin (1624-1696), an English minister from Batcombe, Somerset who was...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Albyn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.