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Alba is the Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
 name for Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is cognate to Albain in Irish Gaelic and Nalbin in Manx
Manx language

Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages spoken on the Isle of Man. The last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974, but in recent years it has been the subject of language revival efforts, and it is now the medium of education at the , a primary school for four- to eleven-year-olds in St....
, the other Goidelic
Goidelic languages

The Goidelic languages, , historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, through the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland....
 Insular Celtic language
Insular Celtic languages

The term Insular Celtic languages refers to those Celtic languages which originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of Continental Europe and Anatolia....
, as well as similar words in the Brythonic
Brythonic languages

The Brythonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Wales Celtic studies Sir John Rhys from the Welsh language word Brython, meaning an indigenous Brython as opposed to an Anglo-Saxons or Gaels....
 Insular Celtic languages of Cornish
Cornish language

The Cornish language is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages. The language continued to function as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century, and there have been attempts to revive the language since the early 20th century....
 (Alban) and Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
 (Yr Alban) also meaning Scotland.

Hence also the early classical name Albion
Albion

Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island. It is the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba....
. It was used by the Gaels
Gaels

The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages languages ? Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Manx language....
 to refer to the island as a whole until roughly the ninth or tenth centuries, when it came to be the name given to the kingdoms of the Picts
Picts

The Picts were a confederation of tribes in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from Roman Empire times until the 10th century....
 and the Scots
Gaels

The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages languages ? Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Manx language....
 (Pictavia and Dál Riata
Dál Riata

D?l Riata was a Gaels overkingdom on the western seaboard of Scotland with some territory on the northern coasts of Ireland. In the late 6th and early 7th century it encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and also County Antrim in Northern Ireland....
), north of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south....
 and the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland....
, traditionally considered to have been unified by Kenneth MacAlpin.






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Alba is the Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic languages branch of Celtic languages. This branch also includes the Irish language and Manx language languages....
 name for Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is cognate to Albain in Irish Gaelic and Nalbin in Manx
Manx language

Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages spoken on the Isle of Man. The last native speaker, Ned Maddrell, died in 1974, but in recent years it has been the subject of language revival efforts, and it is now the medium of education at the , a primary school for four- to eleven-year-olds in St....
, the other Goidelic
Goidelic languages

The Goidelic languages, , historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, through the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland....
 Insular Celtic language
Insular Celtic languages

The term Insular Celtic languages refers to those Celtic languages which originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of Continental Europe and Anatolia....
, as well as similar words in the Brythonic
Brythonic languages

The Brythonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Wales Celtic studies Sir John Rhys from the Welsh language word Brython, meaning an indigenous Brython as opposed to an Anglo-Saxons or Gaels....
 Insular Celtic languages of Cornish
Cornish language

The Cornish language is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages. The language continued to function as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century, and there have been attempts to revive the language since the early 20th century....
 (Alban) and Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
 (Yr Alban) also meaning Scotland.

Hence also the early classical name Albion
Albion

Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island. It is the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba....
. It was used by the Gaels
Gaels

The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages languages ? Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Manx language....
 to refer to the island as a whole until roughly the ninth or tenth centuries, when it came to be the name given to the kingdoms of the Picts
Picts

The Picts were a confederation of tribes in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from Roman Empire times until the 10th century....
 and the Scots
Gaels

The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages languages ? Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Manx language....
 (Pictavia and Dál Riata
Dál Riata

D?l Riata was a Gaels overkingdom on the western seaboard of Scotland with some territory on the northern coasts of Ireland. In the late 6th and early 7th century it encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and also County Antrim in Northern Ireland....
), north of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south....
 and the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland....
, traditionally considered to have been unified by Kenneth MacAlpin. The region Breadalbane
Breadalbane, Scotland

Breadalbane is a region of the southern/central Scottish Highlands in Atholl. The Breadalbane hydro-electric power scheme lies within the region....
 (Brŕghad Albainn, the upper part of "Alba") takes its name from it as well.

The Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word alba is the feminine singular form of albus
Albus

Albus, meaning white in Latin, may refer to:* Albus, a family name of ancient Rome, later lengthened to Albinus In biology:* Amaranthus albus, a pigweed...
, meaning white
White

White is a color, the Color vision#Physiology of color perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in near equal amount and with high brightness compared to the surroundings....
 in English.

As time passed that kingdom incorporated others to the southern territories. It became Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
ized in the High Medieval period as "Albania" (it is unclear whether it may ultimately share the same etymon
Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
 as the modern Albania
Albania

Albania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a country in Balkans. It is bordered by Greece to the south-east, Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, and the Republic of Macedonia to the east....
). This latter word was employed mainly by Celto-Latin writers, and most famously by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was a clergyman and one of the major figures in the English historians in the Middle Ages and the popularity of tales of King Arthur....
. It was this word which passed into Middle English as Albany
Albany (disambiguation)

Albany is common place name. It is derived from Alba and its Latinisation, Albania. In older English it is used to mean Scotland generally, and in particular Scotland north of the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde....
, although very rarely was this used for the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
, but rather for the notional Duchy of Albany
Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scotland, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of House of Stuart and House of Hanover....
. From the latter the capital of the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 state of New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, Albany
Albany, New York

Albany is the Capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County, New York. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York City, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk River and Hudson Rivers....
, takes its name.

Modern Uses

Michel Roger Lafosse who claims the Scottish throne, has styled himself as "HRH Prince Michael James Alexander Stewart, 7th Count of Albany" since 1978.

Runrig
Runrig

Runrig is a six-piece folk rock band from Scotland. The group was founded in 1973, and as of 2009, Runrig has released 13 studio albums.Musically, Runrig is rock-oriented....
 recorded a song called Alba on their album, The Cutter and the Clan
The Cutter and the Clan

The Cutter and the Clan is an album by Scottish people folk rock band Runrig. It was the band's breakthrough album, taking them from cottage industry to the international stage....
.

In the mid-1990s, the Celtic League
Celtic League (political organisation)

The Celtic League is a political and cultural organisation in the modern Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man....
 started a campaign to have the word "Alba" on the Scottish football and rugby
Rugby union

Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with an oval ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two main codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league....
 tops. Since 2005, the SFA
Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association is the Sport governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland....
 have supported the use of Scots Gaelic on their teams's strip in recognition of the language's revival in Scotland. However, the SRU
Scottish Rugby Union

The Scottish Rugby Union is the Sport governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, being founded in 1873....
 is still being lobbied to have "Alba" on the national rugby strip.

There is a BBC Satellite channel aimed at the Scottish Gaelic community which is called BBC Alba
BBC Alba

is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland's national broadcaster, BBC Scotland and the name is generally used to describe the Scottish Gaelic services of the BBC....
.

See also

  • Albanactus
    Albanactus

    According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Albanactus was the founding king of Scotland or Albany. He was the youngest of three sons of Brutus of Britain, a descendant of Aeneas of Troy....
  • Kingdom of Alba
    Kingdom of Alba

    The Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II of Scotland in 900, and of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
  • Caledonia
    Caledonia

    Caledonia is the Latin name given by the Ancient Rome to the land in today's Scotland north of their Roman provinces of Roman Britain, beyond the Frontiers of the Roman Empire of their Roman Empire....
  • Scotia
    Scotia

    Scotia was originally a Latin geographical expression of the territory inhabited by the people Latin writers called Scoti, the early Gaels. As such it became a common name for Ireland, the island also written, as it was known to the Romans, Hibernia....