Alpha

#13,208 for girls in 2025, 6 births · #2,077 for boys in 2025, 71 births
Given to girls 71.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1881 · 27 births
Debut · girls
26 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
7,188
since 1880

Alpha over time

girlsboys

Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201916peak #301, 1881peak #489, 1882girlsboys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#13,2086#2,07771
2024#15,2935#2,02875
2023#11,1698#2,48054
2022#11,2318#2,32561
2021#9,56210#2,62349
2020#12,1427#2,11366
2019#6,69817#2,12967
2018#15,6825#2,54650
2017#2,45052
2016#11,7818#2,20761
2015#2,76643
2014#2,75443
2013#16,5475#2,80441
2012#3,00238
2011#13,3477#3,30633
2010#2,73044
2009#2,52850
2008#2,51550
2007#13,9247#2,64346
2006#15,1526#2,39851
2005#10,9219#2,65341
2004#14,1796#3,07432
2003#13,8446#2,54540
2002#2,55638
2001#9,35110#2,48939
2000#7,58013#2,62135
1999#10,3458#2,60833
1998#5,36319#3,59720
1997#4,66022#3,87717
1996#3,36134#4,18515
1995#13,3865#4,28014
1994#4,53713
1993#3,81916
1992#6,6707
1991#5,09610
1990#10,1937#6,4157
1989#6,53112#4,27112
1988#7,6919
1987#9,8256#6,9515
1986#7,1349#5,3327
1985#6,45710#4,6988
1984#9,1446#3,70111
1983#6,21210#3,07114
1982#10,5175#3,28213
1981#5,88511#3,60111
1980#5,54412#4,9407
1979#5,42712#2,89715
1978#4,93113#2,79915
1977#5,21312#4,5827
1976#4,36314#3,7249
1975#5,16111#3,24611
1974#4,72012#2,79913
1973#3,97115#2,85712
1972#5,10910#2,53414
1971#3,65217#3,14610
1970#3,57717#3,8367
1969#4,41811#2,86110
1968#4,00012
1967#4,9828#2,7609
1966#3,95911#2,32712
1965#2,74420#2,9828
1964#4,35510#2,20514
1963#2,61922#3,0448
1962#2,92218#2,67310
1961#2,67321#2,40912
1960#2,98917#2,8719
1959#2,10829#2,66310
1958#2,37623#3,2757
1957#2,56320#2,09315
1956#1,93131#2,62810
1955#2,41121#2,9648
1954#2,37821#2,11414
1953#2,17323#2,39111
1952#1,78131#1,93916
1951#1,61135#2,13513
1950#1,41142#1,81517
1949#1,62733#1,70219
1948#1,34547#1,88116
1947#1,23853#2,16913
1946#1,10759#1,81316
1945#1,21343#2,13111
1944#96465#2,8627
1943#1,12451#2,27711
1942#96865
1941#1,01352#1,82115
1940#84172#1,68017
1939#89861#2,28810
1938#84071#1,61318
1937#77877#1,75616
1936#79173#1,87214
1935#70591#1,53820
1934#67199#1,78316
1933#69388#1,64418
1932#71291#1,28628
1931#656102#1,45823
1930#76884#1,55922
1929#698100#2,00215
1928#628125#1,96016
1927#562159#1,35030
1926#639126#1,72020
1925#609143#1,49325
1924#619147#1,32931
1923#567161#1,46026
1922#552166#1,10741
1921#529179#1,36030
1920#504188#1,59223
1919#487189#1,38627
1918#513179#1,49924
1917#469191#1,06239
1916#451198#1,20630
1915#455182#1,18130
1914#470135#1,22123
1913#403148#99525
1912#447111#1,02320
1911#385110#1,1909
1910#40694#1,4216
1909#39586
1908#36896#9469
1907#37687#86610
1906#39974#1,0047
1905#39373#1,2335
1904#33397#1,2055
1903#34185
1902#35481#58314
1901#36071#59612
1900#37878#1,1626
1899#31988#9286
1898#36175#1,0026
1897#33975#65211
1896#32182#9826
1895#33075
1894#32872#7309
1893#34062
1892#34359#68810
1891#32559#7667
1890#33757#7398
1889#32158#7897
1888#34747#9176
1887#32842#9215
1886#34638#6948
1885#33735#54712
1884#38527#54712
1883#31432#55611
1882#32629#48914
1881#30127#5959
1880#30926#8096
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Alpha was already there! It came in at #309, and was given to 26 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1991–1995, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

See more about Alpha
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 2,085 spots since 2024 (#15,293#13,208)
  • 1,066 spots since 2020 (#12,142#13,208)
  • Biggest jump: 160 spots in 1944 (#1,124#964)
  • Biggest drop: 249 spots in 1945 (#964#1,213)
Rise & fade · girls
1 yr to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1881 at #301 (27 births)
  • Births halved by 1964, 83 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 63 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 63 yrs · run 1880–1940
Share of babies · girls
1 in 2,648
  • Highest: 1 in 2,648 girls born in 1899 were named Alpha (0.04%)
  • Latest: 1 in 267,878 girls born in 2025 (0.00%)
  • Its best rank, #301 in 1881, was only 1 in 3,406 (0.03%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1910s
  • 21.4% of all girls named Alpha (1,537) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Flipped in 1998
  • Mostly girls until 1997, mostly boys since
all girlsall boys
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s361#301 (1881)#331
1890s704#319 (1899)#334
1900s828#333 (1904)#370
1910s1,537#385 (1911)#449
1920s1,494#504 (1920)#591
1930s837#656 (1931)#751
1940s540#841 (1940)#1,144
1950s276#1,411 (1950)#2,074
1960s150#2,619 (1963)#3,566
1970s133#3,577 (1970)#4,612
1980s90#5,544 (1980)#7,494
1990s95#3,361 (1996)#7,885
2000s57#7,580 (2000)#12,136
2010s42#6,698 (2019)#12,811
2020s44#9,562 (2021)#12,101

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Alpha in 1916

girls
#451
198 births · 1 in 5,274 girls
boys
#1,206
30 births · 1 in 29,669 boys

Top girls' names in 1916

  1. #1Mary61,438
  2. #2Helen32,661
  3. #3Dorothy27,418
  4. #4Margaret24,953
  5. #5Ruth23,189
  6. #6Mildred15,633
  7. #7Anna15,228
  8. #8Elizabeth14,940
  9. #9Frances13,746
  10. #10Virginia12,487
  11. #451Alpha198

Top boys' names in 1916

  1. #1John50,043
  2. #2William40,418
  3. #3James35,569
  4. #4Robert31,741
  5. #5Joseph23,883
  6. #6Charles23,612
  7. #7George23,381
  8. #8Edward17,005
  9. #9Frank15,291
  10. #10Thomas11,998
  11. #1,206Alpha30
More about 1916

girls

1,044,334 girls got a published name in 1916; 1 in 5,274 of them was named Alpha, which outranked 91.3% of the 5,161 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alpha
  1. #448Elvera200
  2. #449Phoebe199
  3. #449Rae199
  4. #451Alpha198
  5. #451Elise198
  6. #451Ester198
  7. #451Lulu198
  8. #455Yetta197
  9. #456Evalyn196
  10. #456Gail196

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1915
Risers
  1. 567Trinidad#1,317#750
  2. 388Coral#1,367#979
  3. 377Coletta#1,317#940
  4. 370Clifford#1,285#915
  5. 327Maida#1,231#904
Fallers
  1. 364Louis#934#1,298
  2. 354Herminia#944#1,298
  3. 346Gertha#900#1,246
  4. 344Lahoma#934#1,278
  5. 310Hassie#900#1,210

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

890,080 boys got a published name in 1916; 1 in 29,669 of them was named Alpha, which outranked 73.4% of the 4,535 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 30.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alpha
  1. #1,176Vinton31
  2. #1,176Willam31
  3. #1,176Willian31
  4. #1,206Alpha30
  5. #1,206Agustin30
  6. #1,206Alice30
  7. #1,206Antoine30
  8. #1,240Adolfo29
  9. #1,240Alger29
  10. #1,240Amon29

Tied with 33 names at #1,206; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1915
Risers
  1. 2,568Tatsuo#3,392#824
  2. 1,088Hughes#1,878#790
  3. 410Angel#1,181#771
  4. 378Trinidad#1,181#803
  5. 354Rolla#1,306#952
Fallers
  1. 500Nicolas#804#1,304
  2. 468Collins#906#1,374
  3. 463Hilliard#952#1,415
  4. 383Arvo#952#1,335
  5. 363Rayford#941#1,304

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1916