Alden
Alden was given to 479 boys in 2025, #598 among boys’ names; 19,173 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 13,500 Americans named Alden and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (70% of everyone recorded); the median is 18 years old and half are between 8 and 34.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Alden by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Alden mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Alden is “a male given name from Old English transferred back from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “old” (eald) and “friend” (wine).
From Old English Ealdwine, from eald (“old”) + wine (“friend”); equivalent to Alwin. In some cases a variant of Haldane.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Alden?
#598 among boys’ names, 2025
Alden rose from #725 in 2015 to #598 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.18 to 0.28 per 1,000.
519 babies in 2024, the peak
Alden peaked in 2024, when 519 babies were given it (494 boys, #576 among boys’ names). The 498 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 96% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 479 | #598 | 0.28 |
| 2024 | 494 | #576 | 0.29 |
| 2023 | 431 | #640 | 0.25 |
| 2022 | 445 | #627 | 0.25 |
| 2021 | 394 | #676 | 0.23 |
| 2020 | 387 | #672 | 0.22 |
| 2019 | 435 | #623 | 0.24 |
| 2018 | 411 | #638 | 0.23 |
| 2017 | 409 | #634 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 392 | #660 | 0.21 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 340 | #725 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 337 | #714 | 0.18 |
| 2013 | 331 | #709 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 294 | #772 | 0.15 |
| 2011 | 244 | #864 | 0.13 |
| 2010 | 251 | #841 | 0.13 |
| 2009 | 242 | #868 | 0.12 |
| 2008 | 222 | #920 | 0.11 |
| 2007 | 275 | #786 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 249 | #816 | 0.12 |
| 2005 | 258 | #769 | 0.13 |
| 2004 | 257 | #735 | 0.13 |
| 2003 | 251 | #729 | 0.13 |
| 2002 | 178 | #905 | 0.09 |
| 2001 | 159 | #967 | 0.08 |
| 2000 | 186 | #855 | 0.09 |
| 1999 | 144 | #983 | 0.07 |
| 1998 | 196 | #782 | 0.10 |
| 1997 | 143 | #939 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 143 | #912 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 142 | #928 | 0.07 |
| 1994 | 116 | #1,026 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 100 | #1,125 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 116 | #1,007 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 91 | #1,149 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 119 | #945 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 92 | #1,098 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 94 | #1,002 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 84 | #1,039 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 92 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 86 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 79 | #1,000 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 68 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 84 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 64 | #1,143 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 57 | #1,214 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 57 | #1,206 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 53 | #1,229 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 48 | #1,289 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 43 | #1,346 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 54 | #1,147 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 44 | #1,270 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 47 | #1,201 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 44 | #1,249 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 48 | #1,181 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 59 | #1,063 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 72 | #900 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 53 | #1,017 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 62 | #915 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 66 | #888 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 76 | #843 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 76 | #875 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 84 | #825 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 60 | #984 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 85 | #832 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 86 | #820 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 92 | #796 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 86 | #806 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 87 | #802 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 110 | #704 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 97 | #738 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 86 | #767 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 98 | #721 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 95 | #720 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 99 | #698 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 89 | #725 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 83 | #753 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 96 | #682 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 124 | #611 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 79 | #738 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 105 | #592 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 105 | #598 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 126 | #565 | 0.09 |
| 1942 | 112 | #587 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 103 | #584 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 116 | #545 | 0.10 |
| 1939 | 117 | #530 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 119 | #535 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 132 | #499 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 120 | #514 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 106 | #558 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 144 | #471 | 0.14 |
| 1933 | 114 | #532 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 158 | #448 | 0.15 |
| 1931 | 134 | #497 | 0.13 |
| 1930 | 146 | #490 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 164 | #459 | 0.15 |
| 1928 | 171 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1927 | 141 | #512 | 0.13 |
| 1926 | 183 | #450 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 173 | #458 | 0.16 |
| 1924 | 183 | #451 | 0.16 |
| 1923 | 176 | #461 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 184 | #453 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 193 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 180 | #450 | 0.17 |
| 1919 | 167 | #454 | 0.17 |
| 1918 | 181 | #443 | 0.18 |
| 1917 | 166 | #438 | 0.18 |
| 1916 | 174 | #427 | 0.20 |
| 1915 | 155 | #436 | 0.18 |
| 1914 | 113 | #450 | 0.17 |
| 1913 | 93 | #445 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 79 | #439 | 0.18 |
| 1911 | 46 | #426 | 0.20 |
| 1910 | 13 | #861 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 12 | #840 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 28 | #463 | 0.18 |
| 1907 | 24 | #472 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 14 | #640 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 19 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1904 | 18 | #516 | 0.14 |
| 1903 | 11 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1902 | 10 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 10 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 13 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 9 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 17 | #507 | 0.14 |
| 1897 | 9 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 10 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 8 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 8 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,037 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 9 | #747 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 9 | #638 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 10 | #629 | 0.09 |
| 1889 | 10 | #630 | 0.09 |
| 1888 | 6 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 7 | #752 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 8 | #696 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 5 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 6 | #849 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 12 | #528 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 8 | #692 | 0.07 |
| 1881 | 6 | #781 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 9 | #641 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Alden a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 19,173 Americans recorded as Alden, 5% are girls and 95% boys. In 2025 it went to 19 girls and 479 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Alden: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Alden, and how old are they?
13,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 70% of the 19,173 Americans ever recorded as Alden. The median Alden alive today is 18 years old; half are between 8 and 34.
The 2020 Census counted 13,184 people named Alden (887 women and girls, 12,297 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,430 born in the U.S. The Census count is 15% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 406 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,140 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 801 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,910 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,510 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Alden born?
The states with the most babies named Alden are California, Texas and Michigan, with 23% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 48 | #607 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 34 | #790 | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 22 | #393 | 1.0× |
| Washington | 22 | #336 | 1.4× |
| New York | 18 | #771 | 0.6× |
| Virginia | 16 | #473 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 16 | #793 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 15 | #627 | 0.5× |
| Minnesota | 14 | #392 | 1.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | #631 | 0.5× |
Where Alden is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Alden is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 3.7 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Alden with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 22,453 babies since 1880, Alden is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 498 of their 531 babies (94%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Alden
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Alden and names like it
- Compare Alden and AldonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sAlden peaked in 2024.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Alden since 1910.
- Old English namesWiktionary’s origin for Alden: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2024The year the most babies were named Alden.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Alden alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with AMost given first.