Alaba

Yoruba

Etymology

Possibly from à- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ là (“to be wealthy, rich”) +‎ bá (“to meet, to come with, to fit”), literally “That who is wealthy has met the rest of the children” or à- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ là (“to overtake”) +‎ bá (“to meet, to come with, to fit”), literally “Someone who is overtaken or overtakes after some pursuit”. Both of these refer to the fact that Àlàbá is the second child after a set of twins.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à.là.bá/

Proper noun

Àlàbá

1. a unisex given name, an orúkọ àmútọ̀runwá given to the second child born after twins, born after a child named Ìdòwú
2. a surname, from the given name Àlàbá