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#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201904peak #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.

Where Alpha is popular in 1904

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

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 1904

girls
#333
97 births · 1 in 2,839 girls
boys
#1,205
5 births · 1 in 25,624 boys

Top girls' names in 1904

  1. #1Mary14,961
  2. #2Helen6,488
  3. #3Anna5,330
  4. #4Margaret5,302
  5. #5Ruth4,900
  6. #6Elizabeth3,833
  7. #7Marie3,595
  8. #8Florence3,572
  9. #9Mildred3,525
  10. #10Dorothy3,477
  11. #333Alpha97

Top boys' names in 1904

  1. #1John8,108
  2. #2William6,416
  3. #3James5,855
  4. #4George4,219
  5. #5Robert3,414
  6. #6Charles3,406
  7. #7Joseph3,291
  8. #8Frank2,799
  9. #9Edward2,335
  10. #10Henry2,085
  11. #1,205Alpha5
More about 1904

girls

275,362 girls got a published name in 1904; 1 in 2,839 of them was named Alpha, which outranked 84.6% of the 2,165 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 20.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alpha
  1. #330Carol98
  2. #330Clarice98
  3. #330Wilhelmina98
  4. #333Alpha97
  5. #333Corine97
  6. #333Leone97
  7. #336Bess96
  8. #337Lura93
  9. #337Rosella93

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

Biggest movers since 1903
Risers
  1. ↑ 882Electa#1,592 → #710
  2. ↑ 882Edris#1,792 → #910
  3. ↑ 827Lannie#1,792 → #965
  4. ↑ 827Madalyn#1,792 → #965
  5. ↑ 800Amber#1,440 → #640
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,041Genie#836 → #1,877
  2. ↓ 981Doshie#896 → #1,877
  3. ↓ 981Matilde#896 → #1,877
  4. ↓ 908Aida#969 → #1,877
  5. ↓ 908Silvia#969 → #1,877

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

boys

128,122 boys got a published name in 1904; 1 in 25,624 of them was named Alpha, which outranked 13.6% of the 1,395 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 32.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Alpha
  1. #1,064Wyman6
  2. #1,064Young6
  3. #1,064Zollie6
  4. #1,205Alpha5
  5. #1,205Acey5
  6. #1,205Adan5
  7. #1,205Admiral5

Tied with 190 names at #1,205; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1903
Risers
  1. ↑ 615Adelbert#1,130 → #515
  2. ↑ 592Hunter#1,130 → #538
  3. ↑ 564Mac#1,130 → #566
  4. ↑ 564Manley#1,130 → #566
  5. ↑ 483Hezekiah#1,130 → #647
Fallers
  1. ↓ 629Bessie#576 → #1,205
  2. ↓ 629Reynold#576 → #1,205
  3. ↓ 610Nat#595 → #1,205
  4. ↓ 586Minnie#619 → #1,205
  5. ↓ 586Ludwig#619 → #1,205

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

See the top 100 for 1904 →