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.
- #13,559 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,352 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 181
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
Alif currently ranks #12352 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 #12352 as of the latest data, more common than 11% 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.
- #13,559 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #12,352 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 181 born since 1973
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Alif ranks #13,559 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,352 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 181 born since 1973, peaking in the 2000s.
- #13,559 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,352 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 181
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
Alif's 181 recorded births place it above 70.1% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 1 jurisdictions, led by New York.
How Alif compares
181 36th percentile among 13,930 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 (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 181 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 10 | 34 | 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 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
2000s is the heaviest window (49 births, 27% of the file).
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% |
10 of 181 births nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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
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
Compare Alif side by side: Alif vs Ali Alif vs Alijah Alif vs Alistair
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alif
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Alif: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2020)
Similar record span (~52 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 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).
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 August 2026.