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It's pronounced "Albin," apparently, but alas, it won't do as a child's name in Denmark, where they have government bureaus overseeing this sort of thing. More fascinating facts about trends in first names in this article from the London Review of Books. It also sheds light on the rather humble meanings of ancient Greek names - think of "Stocky" (Plato) or "Flat-Nosed" (Simon).

And then, give condolences to poor Copreus of Teos. His name means "Shitty." Suddenly, Moon Unit doesn't seem so bad.

Fun Fact: "Aethelred the Unready" is a mistranslation from Old English into modern English. His actual sobriquet was "Aethelred Unraed," which means "Aethelred the Ill-Advised." Cold comfort, I guess, for that benighted king, but it's better than having a reputation through history for being caught off your guard.

Also: "Aethelred" itself means "Noble Counsel" - so, taken together, his name and sobriquet reflect more than a bit of irony.

Another Fun Fact: The earliest recorded instance of the name "Alexander" comes from a treaty between a Hittite king and a king of Troy, named "Aleksandu" or some such thing. This was from the thirteenth century B.C. To put it in perspective, this is the time of the Egyptian King Ramses II ("the Great"); Homer was about four centuries in the future. (In fairness, though, the Great Pyramid of Giza was already 1300 years old by this time.) Fast-forward 3300 years, to 2010, and that name is ranked number seventeen in popularity in Great Britain. Now that's endurance!