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Alba

girl name
Origin
Latin
Syllables
2
Peak era
2000s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Alba and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

“Latin for 'white' or 'dawn'”

The story

Alba is a name the references refuse to simplify: it descends from two tangled sources, the Latin Albus, white, bright, and a Germanic root meaning elf, while the Romance word for dawn, alba, is what actually inspires most parents who choose it. Dawn, white and elf all in one name, and there is a fourth thread: Alba is the Gaelic name for Scotland, built on the same Indo-European root for white. Spain has made it a modern favorite, among the most common names given to girls born there since 2000, and the grand House of Alba, whose late duchess held a Guinness-record 57 noble titles, keeps the word aristocratic. The American record is climbing gently, 1,390 girls in the 2010s. Brazil's 13,719 Albas skew older, median age 56. A name that brings first light to mind in three Romance languages and names a whole country in a fourth.

More names with stories →

How popular is Alba around the world?

In the United States, 1,149 babies were named Alba between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 2,360 girls named Alba were born in 2025, the 5th most common name among girls that year.

Alba is on the official records of the United States, France, Spain, Norway, Scotland, England and Wales, Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Chile, Mexico City, Canada, Brazil, South Australia and Montevideo.

Alba crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish

United States

1 in 19,000

In the United States, 1,149 babies were named Alba between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2000s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Alba peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Alba has stayed between 305 and 1,390 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

France

1 in 270

In France, about 2,360 girls named Alba were born in 2025, the 5th most common name among girls that year.

1900peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Spain

1 in 360

In Spain, 126,045 residents are named Alba, the 30th most common name among women, with a mean age of 21.6 years.
In Spain, Alba was the 25th most common name among girls born in 2024.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Norway

1 in 500 · register 2026

In Norway, 53 girls were given the name Alba in 2025.

1990peak 2025

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Scotland

1 in 730

In Scotland, 63 girls named Alba were registered in 2024, the 66th most common name among girls that year.

2000peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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England and Wales

1 in 1,200

In England and Wales, 472 girls named Alba were born in 2025, the 95th most common name among girls that year.

1996peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Argentina

1 in 1,500

In Argentina, 439 newborns were given the name Alba in 2024.

2012peak 20212024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Ireland

1 in 2,700

In Ireland, 20 girls named Alba were born in 2025, the 213th most common name among girls that year.

2000peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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New Zealand

1 in 3,000

In New Zealand, 19 girls named Alba were registered in 2025.

2010peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Austria

1 in 3,000

In Austria, 25 girls named Alba were born in 2025, the 235th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2024

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Chile

1 in 3,700

In Chile, 48 girls were registered as Alba in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

peak 19222021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Mexico City City

1 in 6,200

In Mexico City, there were 19 registrations of Alba in 2022.

2000peak 2020

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Canada

1 in 8,000

In Canada, 46 girls named Alba were born in 2024, the 619th most common name among girls that year.

1991peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Brazil

1 in 15,000

At the 2022 census, 13,719 people in Brazil were named Alba, ranked 1,366th, with a median age of 56.
Among people named Alba living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1960s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 83 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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South Australia

1 in 18,000 · 2017

In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Alba in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Montevideo City

1 in 25,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 1 girl named Alba was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

peak 19402011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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Poland

last on record 2021

Alba is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2013

Alba is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 35 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Alba

Most people given the name Alba in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Alba

Marina Natalie Emilia Camilla Kai Sylvia

Keep exploring

Short names · Familiar but never popular

The Alba deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Alba truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Alba fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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