Algernon
Algernon was last recorded in 2016, when 5 babies were given it; 985 Americans have been recorded with it between 1886 and 2016 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Algernon by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Algernon mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Algernon is “a male given name from French.” Its etymology gives the senses “having mustaches” (gernons) and “mustache” (grenon) and “facial hair, mustache” (*granonem).
From Old French als gernons (“having mustaches”), from als (contraction of a and les) + gernon, variant of grenon (“mustache”), from Vulgar Latin *granonem (“facial hair, mustache”), from Proto-Germanic *granō (“awn, beard-hair, hair-tips, mustache”), related to Old High German grana, granu (“mustache”), Old Norse grǫn (“mustache, (upper) lip”), Old English granu (“mustache”). Mustaches were often a prominent cultural component for men of some early medieval Germanic societies (contrary to popular culture, beards were uncommon), whence the name originates from. However, the particular distinction owing this name vis-a-vis other families is unclear.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Algernon?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #12,273, in 2016; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
29 babies in 1972, the peak
Algernon peaked in 1972, when 29 boys were given it, #1,603 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | #12,273 | 2.6 |
| 2015 | 5 | #12,159 | 2.6 |
| 2014 | 8 | #8,809 | 4.2 |
| 2010 | 9 | #8,166 | 4.7 |
| 2009 | 5 | #12,559 | 2.5 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,197 | 4.3 |
| 2006 | 6 | #10,721 | 2.9 |
| 2002 | 5 | #10,724 | 2.6 |
| 2001 | 7 | #8,363 | 3.6 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,407 | 2.5 |
Every recorded year (90)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7 | #7,896 | 3.6 |
| 1997 | 12 | #4,963 | 6.4 |
| 1995 | 8 | #6,425 | 4.2 |
| 1994 | 6 | #7,795 | 3.1 |
| 1993 | 16 | #3,818 | 8.2 |
| 1992 | 14 | #4,110 | 7.0 |
| 1991 | 18 | #3,323 | 8.9 |
| 1990 | 19 | #3,164 | 9.3 |
| 1989 | 18 | #3,203 | 9.0 |
| 1988 | 21 | #2,679 | 11.0 |
| 1987 | 21 | #2,559 | 11.2 |
| 1986 | 15 | #3,131 | 8.1 |
| 1985 | 12 | #3,604 | 6.5 |
| 1984 | 12 | #3,462 | 6.6 |
| 1983 | 10 | #3,890 | 5.6 |
| 1982 | 14 | #3,110 | 7.7 |
| 1981 | 12 | #3,416 | 6.7 |
| 1980 | 21 | #2,366 | 11.8 |
| 1979 | 18 | #2,571 | 10.5 |
| 1978 | 17 | #2,570 | 10.4 |
| 1977 | 17 | #2,558 | 10.3 |
| 1976 | 9 | #3,726 | 5.7 |
| 1975 | 26 | #1,834 | 16.7 |
| 1974 | 22 | #1,986 | 14.0 |
| 1973 | 18 | #2,214 | 11.5 |
| 1972 | 29 | #1,603 | 17.9 |
| 1971 | 28 | #1,669 | 15.8 |
| 1970 | 15 | #2,399 | 8.1 |
| 1969 | 15 | #2,217 | 8.4 |
| 1968 | 18 | #1,894 | 10.4 |
| 1967 | 10 | #2,612 | 5.7 |
| 1966 | 14 | #2,132 | 7.8 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,478 | 5.9 |
| 1964 | 9 | #2,858 | 4.5 |
| 1963 | 6 | #3,652 | 3.0 |
| 1961 | 8 | #3,101 | 3.8 |
| 1960 | 11 | #2,535 | 5.2 |
| 1959 | 16 | #2,034 | 7.5 |
| 1958 | 10 | #2,645 | 4.7 |
| 1957 | 10 | #2,634 | 4.6 |
| 1956 | 8 | #2,974 | 3.8 |
| 1955 | 10 | #2,561 | 4.9 |
| 1954 | 9 | #2,748 | 4.4 |
| 1953 | 10 | #2,533 | 5.1 |
| 1952 | 7 | #3,096 | 3.6 |
| 1951 | 13 | #2,137 | 6.9 |
| 1950 | 7 | #3,025 | 3.9 |
| 1949 | 11 | #2,340 | 6.2 |
| 1948 | 10 | #2,442 | 5.7 |
| 1947 | 8 | #2,866 | 4.4 |
| 1942 | 6 | #3,220 | 4.3 |
| 1941 | 6 | #3,138 | 4.9 |
| 1940 | 5 | #3,468 | 4.3 |
| 1939 | 5 | #3,486 | 4.5 |
| 1938 | 6 | #3,181 | 5.4 |
| 1937 | 7 | #2,909 | 6.6 |
| 1936 | 8 | #2,634 | 7.7 |
| 1934 | 7 | #2,977 | 6.8 |
| 1933 | 6 | #3,275 | 6.1 |
| 1932 | 9 | #2,643 | 8.6 |
| 1930 | 8 | #3,027 | 7.3 |
| 1929 | 6 | #3,565 | 5.6 |
| 1928 | 5 | #4,162 | 4.5 |
| 1927 | 5 | #4,214 | 4.4 |
| 1926 | 7 | #3,393 | 6.3 |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,157 | 7.2 |
| 1924 | 8 | #3,265 | 7.1 |
| 1923 | 13 | #2,331 | 11.9 |
| 1922 | 12 | #2,489 | 11.0 |
| 1921 | 10 | #2,804 | 9.1 |
| 1920 | 8 | #3,216 | 7.5 |
| 1919 | 6 | #3,741 | 6.1 |
| 1918 | 7 | #3,376 | 6.9 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,562 | 10.8 |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,390 | 12.4 |
| 1915 | 9 | #2,624 | 10.6 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,776 | 19.9 |
| 1913 | 10 | #1,804 | 19.5 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,749 | 20.9 |
| 1886 | 5 | #965 | 45.1 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Algernon a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Algernon has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 90 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Algernon: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Algernon, and how old are they?
An estimated 663 Americans named Algernon and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 48 years old and half are between 37 and 57. An estimate from SSA’s births and life tables, not a count.
The 2020 Census counted 626 people named Algernon (7 women and girls, 619 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 705 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
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).
More about Algernon and names like it
- The most given names of the 1970sAlgernon peaked in 1972.
- Georgia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Algernon since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Algernon: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1972The year the most babies were named Algernon.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Algernon alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with AMost given first.