Unisex name · since 1880
Alva
11,269 babies named Alva in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1917. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,123 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,696 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,269
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Alva is the #10696 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 11,269 recorded since 1880.
Alva has 11,269 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #10696 as of the latest data, more common than 23% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,123 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #10,696 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 11,269 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Alva ranks #1,123 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,696 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 11,269 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #1,123 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,696 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 11,269
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Alva's 11,269 recorded births place it above 97.53% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
32 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Ohio.
How Alva compares
11,269 Top 8% higher than 92% of 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
Alva's all-time total is 31x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Alva | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 11,269 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 317 | 34 | 22,252 |
Alva's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Alva's full recorded timeline at 1950, 17% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 83% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 2003, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1917 peak of 317 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Alva popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1917)
- 317
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Alva popularity over time - girls
8,889 total births recorded since 1880 (Alva as girls' name)
Alva by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (2,551 births, 23% of the file).
1920s was Alva's strongest decade.
2,551 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Alva births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 663
1880s
663 births
- 1890s 689
1890s
689 births
- 1900s 575
1900s
575 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,978 births
- 1920s
1920s
2,551 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,681 births
- 1940s
1940s
1,216 births
- 1950s 717
1950s
717 births
- 1960s 479
1960s
479 births
- 1970s 292
1970s
292 births
- 1980s 158
1980s
158 births
- 1990s 104
1990s
104 births
- 2000s 52
2000s
52 births
- 2010s 65
2010s
65 births
- 2020s 49
2020s
49 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 2,551 births (23% of all-time use).
How Alva 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 Alva's total volume
Alva by state
Where Alva concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ohio | | 636 | 5.6% |
| #2 | Oklahoma | | 599 | 5.3% |
| #3 | Missouri | | 580 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 519 | 4.6% |
| #5 | Indiana | | 468 | 4.2% |
| #6 | West Virginia | | 410 | 3.6% |
| #7 | Kentucky | | 376 | 3.3% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 316 | 2.8% |
636 of 11,269 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 32 reporting states.
Alva appears in 32 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Alva's data
- Alva's decade-level peak was the 1920s (2,551 total births); usage has since declined to 49 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Ohio records the most Alvas (636 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Ohio names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Alva
Nearby Names Like Alva
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Alva
Compare Alva side by side: Alva vs Alvin Alva vs Alvaro Alva vs Alvis
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Alva
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Alva: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1917)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Alva 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.