Albert

This is a surname of Anglo-Saxon pre 8th century origins. Recorded in the spellings of Albert, Aubert, the patronymic Albertson and the short form Alberts, the name was popular as a baptismal name in England before the Norman Invasion of 1066. The Normans also used the name, and therefore it enjoyed increased support until the surname period, when mysteriously its popularity waned. The surname was recorded from the early 13th century, see below, but recordings were sparse. The name derives from the Old German compound 'Aedelbeort' which translates literally as 'noble-bright', but probably had a more prosaic meaning one thousand years ago. Examples of the early recordings include 'Albertus' in the 1086 Domesday Book for Bedfordshire, whilst Phillipus filius Alberti is recorded in the 1211 'Curia regis' rolls for Dorset, and Isabella Aubert appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in the year 1327. The latter was clearly a hereditary surname, although those before it were not so. Later examples of recordings taken from church registers include William Albert who married Anne Sharp at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on November 9th 1635, whilst a very interesting pair of recordings are those of Susanne Albert, the daughter of Pierre, christened at the French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London, and on September 5th 1706 Daniel Albert, who was a witness at Glasshouse Street French Huguenot church, London. These recordings illustrate a what may be described as a third entry of the surname into Britain. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Alberd, which was dated 1221, in the pipe rolls of Warwickshire, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as 'The Frenchman', 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.