Total births
10,590
Boys' name · since 1880
Alphonse
10,590 babies named Alphonse in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #2420
- among boys today
- 10,590
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 83%
- more common than other boys
Yes -- Alphonse is the #2420 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 10,590 recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Alphonse has been recorded 10,590 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #2420 nationally and more common than 83% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #2420 among boys today
- 10,590 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
- 83% more common than other boys
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Alphonse is currently the #2420 boys' name in America, more common than 83% of boys - 10,590 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #2420
- among boys today
- 10,590
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 83%
- more common than other boys
Alphonse vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
#2420
of 14,294 boys in use
More common than 83% of names given to boys today.
1920s
Peak decade
24% of everyone ever named Alphonse was born in this single decade.
1918
Single peak year
357 babies were named Alphonse in 1918 - its busiest year on record.
How Alphonse compares
10,590 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Alphonse's all-time total is 29x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Alphonse | Median boys name (Elchonon) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 10,590 | 367 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 357 | 23 | 22,252 |
Alphonse's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Alphonse's full recorded timeline at 1953, 24% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 76% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 2004, with just 11 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 357 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Alphonse at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1918
Current rank
#2,420
Active since
1880
Alphonse popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 357
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Alphonse by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1920s was Alphonse's strongest decade.
2,529 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Alphonse births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 178
1880s
178 births
- 1890s 218
1890s
218 births
- 1900s 347
1900s
347 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,326 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,529 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,281 births
- 1940s 954
1940s
954 births
- 1950s 760
1950s
760 births
- 1960s 496
1960s
496 births
- 1970s 304
1970s
304 births
- 1980s 239
1980s
239 births
- 1990s 221
1990s
221 births
- 2000s 151
2000s
151 births
- 2010s 265
2010s
265 births
- 2020s 321
2020s
321 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 2,529 births (24% of all-time use).
How Alphonse 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 Alphonse's total volume
Alphonse vs 15 similarly-sized boys names
Alphonse by state
Where Alphonse concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,526 | 14.4% |
| #2 | Massachusetts | | 951 | 9.0% |
| #3 | Louisiana | | 713 | 6.7% |
| #4 | Connecticut | | 516 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 503 | 4.7% |
| #6 | New Jersey | | 477 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 435 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 329 | 3.1% |
New York share of Alphonse's total US births 14.4%
Even split
1,526 of 10,590 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 25 reporting states.
Alphonse appears in 25 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Alphonse? ▼
10,590 babies have been named Alphonse since 1880. It currently ranks #2420 among boys. The peak year was 1918 with 357 births.
When was Alphonse most popular? ▼
Alphonse was most popular in the 1920s decade with 2,529 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Alphonse most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Alphonse are New York (1,526 births), Massachusetts (951 births), Louisiana (713 births).
How long has the name Alphonse been used? ▼
Alphonse has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Alphonse? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Alphonso, Alpha, Alphonzo, Alpheus, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Alphonse's data
- Alphonse's decade-level peak was the 1920s (2,529 total births); usage has since declined to 321 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Alphonses (1,526 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 Alphonse
Nearby Names Like Alphonse
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Alphonse
Alphonso Boy
#5453 15,187 births
Alpha Boy
#2028 2,857 births
Alphonzo Boy
#9929 2,030 births
Alpheus Boy
#9904 770 births
Alphonza Boy
508 births
Compare Alphonse side by side: Alphonse vs Alphonso Alphonse vs Alpha Alphonse vs Alphonzo
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alphonse
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. "Alphonse: #2420 Boys' Name - 10,590 Births, Peak 1918." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/alphonse. 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 Alphonse 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.