Meaning of the nameAlba
Alba is a female name with two origins, according to Behind the Name: Latin Albus, 'white, bright', and Germanic alb, 'elf'; in Spanish, alba is 'dawn'.
Meaning
“from Latin Albus, 'white, bright', or from Germanic alb, 'elf'”
Source: Behind the Name: Alba · Behind the Name: Albus · Behind the Name: Alba (Germanic) · Wiktionary: Alba (Spanish) · Priberam: alba
- People (2022)
- 13,719
- Rank in Brazil
- #1,366
- Median age
- 56 years
- 2010 Census
- 15,572
- people
Alba in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Alba, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (4,072 people).
13,654 women 65 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Alba is most common
States with the highest share of people named Alba in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio de Janeiro 0.016%
- Paraíba 0.014%
- Pernambuco 0.012%
- Distrito Federal 0.010%
- Alagoas 0.010%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| Rio de Janeiro | 2,511 | 0.016% |
| São Paulo | 1,993 | 0.005% |
| Bahia | 1,101 | 0.008% |
| Pernambuco | 1,061 | 0.012% |
| Minas Gerais | 1,014 | 0.005% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 896 | 0.008% |
| Paraíba | 574 | 0.014% |
| Pará | 537 | 0.007% |
| Paraná | 463 | 0.004% |
| Santa Catarina | 448 | 0.006% |
| Goiás | 392 | 0.006% |
| Espírito Santo | 335 | 0.009% |
| Ceará | 325 | 0.004% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 307 | 0.009% |
| Alagoas | 307 | 0.010% |
| Distrito Federal | 286 | 0.010% |
| Maranhão | 223 | 0.003% |
| Amazonas | 218 | 0.006% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 122 | 0.004% |
| Mato Grosso | 120 | 0.003% |
| Sergipe | 119 | 0.005% |
| Piauí | 106 | 0.003% |
| Tocantins | 90 | 0.006% |
| Roraima | 50 | 0.008% |
| Rondônia | 49 | 0.003% |
| Amapá | 38 | 0.005% |
| Acre | 34 | 0.004% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Alba
Behind the Name explains Alba as the merging of two names that ended up being confused: the feminine of the Roman cognomen Albus, 'white, bright' in Latin, and a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element alb, 'elf'. In Italian, Spanish and Catalan, alba means 'dawn', which, according to the same source, may have inspired the use of the name in Italy and Spain; Wiktionary also gives the Spanish name Alba as coming from alba, 'dawn'. In Portuguese, alba is the light that precedes the break of day, according to Priberam. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 13,719 people named Alba, with a median age of 56; proportionally, the name is most common in Rio de Janeiro.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Alba · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Alba (Latin) · behindthename.com · origin
- Behind the Name: Albus · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Alba (Germanic) · behindthename.com · meaning
- Wiktionary: Alba (Spanish) · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Priberam: alba · dicionario.priberam.org · meaning
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Alba · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
Questions about the name Alba
What does the name Alba mean?
Alba means “from Latin Albus, 'white, bright', or from Germanic alb, 'elf'”, according to Behind the Name and Wiktionary.
How many people are named Alba in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 13,719 people with the first name Alba, which ranks it number 1,366 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.
Is Alba a boy's or a girl's name?
Alba is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 13,654 women and 65 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Alba?
Alba is a name of Latin, Germanic and Spanish origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Alba most common?
Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.016% of the state's population is named Alba (2,511 people), according to the 2022 Census.
Names that also mean light
See all- Luciana♀Feminine form of Luciano, from Lucius, linked to 'light'407,163 people
- Helena♀Probably from Greek helene, 'torch'366,186 people
- Lúcia♀Feminine of Lúcio (Lucius), from lux, 'light'248,576 people
- Elaine♀Form of Helen, probably 'torch'241,786 people
- Luzia♀From Latin Lūcia, feminine of Lucius, derived from lux, 'light'212,889 people
- Rosana♀Form of Roxana, from Old Iranian rauxšnā, 'bright'176,603 people
- Luciene♀Variant of Luciana, a name linked to Latin lux, 'light'136,080 people
- Clara♀Clear, bright, illustrious126,362 people
More names of Latin origin
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- Patrícia♀Noble, patrician500,893 people
- Amanda♀Lovable, worthy of being loved495,974 people
- Letícia♀Joy487,449 people
Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Alba with a source. See the methodology.