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Alban is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Alban family when they migrated to the region after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Alban family lived in Normandy where it was derived from the ancient English given name Albin, meaning white.
The surname Alban 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 Alban research. The years 1560, 1597, 1624, 1629, 1636, 1658, 1688, 1690, 1696 and 1742 are included under the topic Early Alban History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been 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 Alban Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Alban is the 15,941st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Alban or a variant listed above: