Total births
181
Boys' name · since 1973
Alif
Alif has 181 recorded births since 1973 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2020 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #11212
- among boys today
- 181
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 22%
- more common than other boys
Alif currently ranks #11212 among boys' names in America, with 181 babies recorded since 1973.
Alif has 181 recorded births among boys since 1973, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11212 as of the latest data, more common than 22% of boys, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1973 to 2025.
- #11212 among boys today
- 181 born since 1973
- 2000s peak decade
- 22% more common than other boys
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Alif is currently the #11212 boys' name in America, more common than 22% of boys - 181 born since 1973, peaking in the 2000s.
- #11212
- among boys today
- 181
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
- 22%
- more common than other boys
Alif vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
#11212
of 14,294 boys in use
More common than 22% of names given to boys today.
2000s
Peak decade
27% of everyone ever named Alif was born in this single decade.
2020
Single peak year
10 babies were named Alif in 2020 - its busiest year on record.
How Alif compares
181 36th percentile among 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
Alif's all-time total is 51% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Alif | Median boys name (Elchonon) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 181 | 367 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 10 | 23 | 22,252 |
Alif's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Alif's full recorded timeline at 2009, 53% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 47% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1981, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2020 peak of 10 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Alif at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
2020
Current rank
#11,212
Active since
1973
Alif popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1973–2025
- Peak year (2020)
- 10
- Annual births at peak, across 53 years of records
Alif by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
2000s was Alif's strongest decade.
49 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Alif births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s
1970s
25 births
- 1980s 5
1980s
5 births
- 1990s 12
1990s
12 births
- 2000s
2000s
49 births
- 2010s
2010s
49 births
- 2020s
2020s
41 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 49 births (27% of all-time use).
Alif by state
Where Alif concentrates geographically, total births since 1973
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 10 | 5.5% |
New York share of Alif's total US births 5.5%
10 of 181 births nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Alif? ▼
Since 1973, Social Security records show 181 babies named Alif. Today it holds rank #11212 among boys. Its busiest year on record was 2020, with 10 births.
When was Alif most popular? ▼
Alif was most popular in the 2000s decade with 49 total births. The single peak year was 2020.
Where is Alif most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Alif are New York (10 births).
How long has the name Alif been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Alif since 1973 -- 53 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Alif? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ali, Alijah, Alistair, Alice, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Alif's data
- Alif's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (49 total births) through the 2020s (41) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Alifs (10 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York 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 Alif
Nearby Names Like Alif
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Alif
Ali Boy
#323 34,383 births
Alijah Boy
#429 14,231 births
Alistair Boy
#913 4,088 births
Alice Boy
#10956 1,959 births
Alister Boy
#1655 1,659 births
Compare Alif side by side: Alif vs Ali Alif vs Alijah Alif vs Alistair
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alif
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, 1973–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Alif: #11212 Boys' Name - 181 Births, Peak 2020." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/alif. 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 Alif 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.