Alba


Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate with the Irish term Alba and the Manx term Nalbin, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as contemporary words used in Cornish and Welsh, both of which are Brythonic Insular Celtic languages. In the past these terms were names for Great Britain as a whole, related to the Brythonic name Albion.

Etymology

The term first appears in classical texts as Ἀλβίων Albíon or Ἀλουΐων Alouíon, and later as Albion in Latin documents. Historically, the term refers to Britain as a whole and is ultimately based on the Indo-European root for "white". It later came to be used by Gaelic speakers in the form of Alba as the name given to the former kingdom of the Picts which when first used in this sense had expanded. The region Breadalbane takes its name from it as well.
As time passed that kingdom incorporated others to the southern territories. It became re-Latinized in the High Medieval period as "Albania". This latter word was employed mainly by Celto-Latin writers, and most famously by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It was this word which passed into Middle English as Albany, although very rarely was this used for the Kingdom of Scotland, but rather for the notional Duchy of Albany. It is from the latter that Albany, the capital of the US state of New York, and Albany, Western Australia take their names.
It also appears in the anglicised literary form of Albyn, as in Byron's Childe Harold:

Modern uses