US rank #205 Boys' name Peak 1993 284,633 births

Alex — #205 US boys' name

284,633 babies named Alex in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1993. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s14511890s14481900s17451910s78711920s91821930s63061940s68551950s82001960s120311970s140041980s387111990s708322000s637792010s325912020s9627
#205
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99% of names given to boys today.

1990s
Peak decade

25% of everyone ever named Alex was born in this single decade.

1993
Single peak year

7,641 babies were named Alex in 1993 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Alex

The Social Security Administration has registered 284,633 babies named Alex between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Alex currently holds the #205 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1993, when 7,641 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Alex performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 70,832 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Alex shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 40,245 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Texas. In total, SSA state-level files list Alex in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Alex in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 284,633 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Alex at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

284,633

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1993

7,641 births that year

Strongest decade: 1990s

Current rank

#205

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Alex popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1993)
7,641
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,0008,00010,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 147

Alex popularity over time — girls

9,749 total births recorded since 1915 (Alex as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 9,749 births
-1000100200300400500 202420101996198219681954193719221915 11

Alex by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1990s
Peak decade
1990s
70,832 births that decade — 25% of Alex's all-time total
1880s14511890s14481900s17451910s78711920s91821930s63061940s68551950s82001960s120311970s140041980s387111990s708322000s637792010s325912020s9627

Alex by state

Where Alex concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Alex
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
40,245 14.1%
#2 New York
22,305 7.8%
#3 Texas
22,270 7.8%
#4 Illinois
14,201 5.0%
#5 Florida
12,753 4.5%
#6 Pennsylvania
11,388 4.0%
#7 Ohio
10,822 3.8%
#8 Michigan
9,584 3.4%
California share of Alex's total US births 14.1%
Even split

40,245 of 284,633 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Alex appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Alex?
284,633 babies have been named Alex since 1880. It currently ranks #205 among boys. The peak year was 1993 with 7,641 births.
When was Alex most popular?
Alex was most popular in the 1990s decade with 70,832 total births. The single peak year was 1993.
Where is Alex most popular?
The top states for the name Alex are California (40,245 births), New York (22,305 births), Texas (22,270 births).
How long has the name Alex been used?
Alex has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Alex?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Alexander, Alejandro, Alexis, Alec, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Alex

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.