Recorded in over sixty spellings including Albert, Aubert, the patronymic Albertson and the short form Alberts (English) Abert and Albrecht (Germany) Alberto and Aliberti (Italian), Alberto (Portugese), Alperti and Liperti (Spain) and many others, the name has always been popular in Europe for fifteen hundred years. In England the Norman invaders also used the name, and therefore it enjoyed increased support until the surname period in the 13th century, when mysteriously, its popularity waned. The derivation throughout Europe is from the pre 7th century Old German compound personal name '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. An 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 Alberti, who was a witness at Glasshouse Street French, also in the city of 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. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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