Total births
736,123
Boys' name · since 1880
Alexander
736,123 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.
- #27
- among boys today
- 736,123
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 99.8%
- more common than other boys
Yes -- Alexander is the #27 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 736,123 recorded since 1880.
Alexander has 736,123 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #27 as of the latest data, more common than 99.8% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #27 among boys today
- 736,123 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
- 99.8% more common than other boys
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Alexander is currently the #27 boys' name in America, more common than 99.8% of boys - 736,123 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #27
- among boys today
- 736,123
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 99.8%
- more common than other boys
Alexander vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
#27
of 14,294 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
20,530 babies were named Alexander in 1993 - its busiest year on record.
How Alexander compares
736,123 Top 0% higher than 100% of 14,294 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Alexander's all-time total is 2,006x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Alexander | Median boys name (Elchonon) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 736,123 | 367 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 20,530 | 23 | 22,252 |
Alexander's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Alexander's full recorded timeline at 1953, 93% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 7% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1901, with just 162 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1993 peak of 20,530 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Alexander at a glance
Top 100 boys' namePeak year
1993
Current rank
#27
Active since
1880
Alexander popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1993)
- 20,530
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Alexander popularity over time - girls
4,545 total births recorded since 1909 (Alexander as girls' name)
Alexander by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Alexander's strongest decade.
183,952 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Alexander births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 2,081
1880s
2,081 births
- 1890s 1,954
1890s
1,954 births
- 1900s 2,230
1900s
2,230 births
- 1910s 11,352
1910s
11,352 births
- 1920s 12,539
1920s
12,539 births
- 1930s 7,095
1930s
7,095 births
- 1940s 9,477
1940s
9,477 births
- 1950s 12,180
1950s
12,180 births
- 1960s 14,168
1960s
14,168 births
- 1970s 24,932
1970s
24,932 births
- 1980s
1980s
82,010 births
- 1990s
1990s
183,952 births
- 2000s
2000s
178,847 births
- 2010s
2010s
142,161 births
- 2020s 51,145
2020s
51,145 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 183,952 births (25% of all-time use).
How Alexander compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Alexander's total volume
Alexander vs 15 similarly-sized boys names
Alexander by state
Where Alexander concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 102,604 | 13.9% |
| #2 | New York | | 61,056 | 8.3% |
| #3 | Texas | | 50,257 | 6.8% |
| #4 | Florida | | 40,965 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 37,622 | 5.1% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 33,184 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 28,101 | 3.8% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 27,035 | 3.7% |
California share of Alexander's total US births 13.9%
Even split
102,604 of 736,123 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? ▼
736,123 babies have been named Alexander since 1880. It currently ranks #27 among boys. The peak year was 1993 with 20,530 births.
When was Alexander most popular? ▼
Alexander was most popular in the 1990s decade with 183,952 total births. The single peak year was 1993.
Where is Alexander most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Alexander are California (102,604 births), New York (61,056 births), Texas (50,257 births).
How long has the name Alexander been used? ▼
Records for Alexander go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
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.
What to do with Alexander's data
- Alexander's decade-level peak was the 1990s (183,952 total births); usage has since declined to 51,145 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Alexanders (102,604 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Alexander
Nearby Names Like Alexander
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Alexander
Alex Boy
#205 286,169 births
Alejandro Boy
#186 146,624 births
Alexis Boy
#484 68,075 births
Alec Boy
#881 55,152 births
Alessandro Boy
#554 12,002 births
Compare Alexander side by side: Alexander vs Alex Alexander vs Alejandro Alexander vs Alexis
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alexander
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Alexander: #27 Boys' Name - 736,123 Births, Peak 1993." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/alexander. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Alexander draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.