The village's name is a corruption of the German phrase "all zu nähe", translated as "all too near", referencing its close proximity to Bethlehem and the fact that the village was inhabited by German settlers.

[1] On September 5, 1832 Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied rode through Altonah during his travels from Mauch Chunk to Nazareth and noted that the village used to have a large Moravian population.

[3] In 1895, a post office was opened near where the village was located.

The post office was initially going to be named Altonah, in reference to the village, but was instead named Macada and become the center of a village in its own right.

[5] The only remaining reference to the village is Altona Road in Bethlehem.