US rank #5942 Girls' name Peak 1918 28,898 births

Alta — #5942 US girls' name

28,898 babies named Alta 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.

1880s15231890s27961900s30911910s60281920s61981930s36701940s22551950s12801960s5891970s4201980s2891990s1882000s1862010s2442020s141
#5942
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 66% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

21% of everyone ever named Alta was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

820 babies were named Alta in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Alta

The Social Security Administration has registered 28,898 babies named Alta between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Alta currently holds the #5942 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 820 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Alta performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 6,198 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Alta shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 1,827 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Oklahoma and Missouri. In total, SSA state-level files list Alta in 43 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Alta in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 28,898 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Alta at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

28,898

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

820 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#5,942

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Alta popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1918)
820
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-20002004006008001,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 91

Alta popularity over time — boys

117 total births recorded since 1889 (Alta as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 117 births
45678910 19371932192919231916190118911889 5

Alta by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
6,198 births that decade — 21% of Alta's all-time total
1880s15231890s27961900s30911910s60281920s61981930s36701940s22551950s12801960s5891970s4201980s2891990s1882000s1862010s2442020s141

Alta by state

Where Alta concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Alta
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
1,827 6.3%
#2 Oklahoma
1,296 4.5%
#3 Missouri
1,149 4.0%
#4 Kentucky
1,065 3.7%
#5 Arkansas
896 3.1%
#6 Illinois
881 3.0%
#7 Pennsylvania
777 2.7%
#8 Ohio
764 2.6%
Texas share of Alta's total US births 6.3%
Even split

1,827 of 28,898 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.

Alta appears in 43 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Alta?
28,898 babies have been named Alta since 1880. It currently ranks #5942 among girls. The peak year was 1918 with 820 births.
When was Alta most popular?
Alta was most popular in the 1920s decade with 6,198 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Alta most popular?
The top states for the name Alta are Texas (1,827 births), Oklahoma (1,296 births), Missouri (1,149 births).
How long has the name Alta been used?
Alta has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Alta?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Althea, Altha, Altagracia, Altie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.