Top 30 US name Boys' name Peak 1993 728,817 births

Alexander — #27 US boys' name

728,817 babies named Alexander 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.

1880s20811890s19541900s22301910s113521920s125391930s70951940s94771950s121811960s141781970s249401980s820131990s1839432000s1788422010s1421422020s43850
#27
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.8% of names given to boys today.

1990s
Peak decade

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

1993
Single peak year

20,529 babies were named Alexander in 1993 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Alexander

The Social Security Administration has registered 728,817 babies named Alexander between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Alexander currently holds the #27 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1993, when 20,529 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Alexander performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 183,943 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Alexander shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 101,424 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Texas. In total, SSA state-level files list Alexander in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Alexander 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 728,817 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.

Alexander at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

728,817

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1993

20,529 births that year

Strongest decade: 1990s

Current rank

#27

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Alexander popularity over time — boys

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

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1993)
20,529
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,00020,00025,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 211

Alexander popularity over time — girls

4,531 total births recorded since 1909 (Alexander as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 4,531 births
-1000100200300400 202420122000198819761964194919241909 5

Alexander by decade

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

Peak: 1990s
Peak decade
1990s
183,943 births that decade — 25% of Alexander's all-time total
1880s20811890s19541900s22301910s113521920s125391930s70951940s94771950s121811960s141781970s249401980s820131990s1839432000s1788422010s1421422020s43850

Alexander by state

Where Alexander concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Alexander
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
101,424 13.9%
#2 New York
60,580 8.3%
#3 Texas
49,395 6.8%
#4 Florida
40,437 5.5%
#5 Illinois
37,360 5.1%
#6 Pennsylvania
32,970 4.5%
#7 Ohio
27,887 3.8%
#8 New Jersey
26,780 3.7%
California share of Alexander's total US births 13.9%
Even split

101,424 of 728,817 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Alexander appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Alexander?
728,817 babies have been named Alexander since 1880. It currently ranks #27 among boys. The peak year was 1993 with 20,529 births.
When was Alexander most popular?
Alexander was most popular in the 1990s decade with 183,943 total births. The single peak year was 1993.
Where is Alexander most popular?
The top states for the name Alexander are California (101,424 births), New York (60,580 births), Texas (49,395 births).
How long has the name Alexander been used?
Alexander has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Alexander?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Alex, Alejandro, Alexis, Alec, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Alexander

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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.