William Albin

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

English, southern French, German (mainly Austrian), and Hungarian: from the personal name Albin (Latin Albinus, a derivative of albus ‘white’). The usual spelling of the French name is Aubin. The personal name was especially popular in Austria, Lombardy, and Savoy, where it absorbed the Germanic personal name Albuin (which is composed of the elements alb ‘elf’ + win ‘friend’). This was the name of the Lombard leader (died 572) who made himself king of northern Italy, and also of various saints, including a bishop of Brixen (Bressanone) in South Tyrol, whose name was confused with that of St. Aubin of Angers (see Aubin).