Alastor
A Greek name meaning an "avenger" or "one who does not forget".
Name Census estimates that about 337 living Americans carry the first name Alastor. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alastor today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alastor births was 2024 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alastor. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Alastor with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
337
~ 1 in 1,017,075 Americans
Peak year
2024
83 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,900
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Alastor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alastor from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 215 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alastor by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alastor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alastors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Alastor, while Florida, Pennsylvania, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alastor
The name Alastor originates from Greek mythology and literature. It is derived from the Greek word "alastor," which means "avenger" or "persecutor." The name has its roots in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the 8th century BC or earlier.
In Greek mythology, Alastor was a spirit or daemon associated with bloodshed, vengeance, and punishment for wrongdoings. The name was often used to personify the abstract concept of revenge or the consequences of one's actions. It carried a sense of retribution and justice, albeit in a harsh and unforgiving manner.
The name Alastor appears in several ancient Greek texts, including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. In these epic poems, Alastor is mentioned as a personification of the relentless pursuit of vengeance and the inescapable consequences of one's misdeeds. The name also appears in the works of other ancient Greek writers, such as Aeschylus and Euripides.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Alastor was a Greek historian and writer who lived in the 5th century BC. He is known for his work on the history of Sicily and the Peloponnesian War. Another notable bearer of the name was Alastor of Soli, a Greek philosopher and rhetorician who lived in the 3rd century BC.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alastor was occasionally used by writers and poets, although its usage was relatively rare. One example is the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who mentioned Alastor in his Divine Comedy as a personification of the spirit of vengeance.
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, the name gained some popularity among scholars and intellectuals who were familiar with Greek literature and mythology. One notable figure was the French philosopher and writer Alastor de Seneçay, who lived in the 16th century.
In more recent times, the name Alastor has been used by various writers and artists, often as a symbolic or literary reference to the concepts of vengeance and retribution. One notable example is the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who wrote a poem titled "Alastor" in 1815, exploring themes of loneliness, nature, and the pursuit of an ideal.
While not an exhaustive list, some other notable individuals named Alastor throughout history include Alastor of Crete (an ancient Greek philosopher), Alastor Molyneaux (a 17th-century English writer and mathematician), and Alastor Jacobson (a 19th-century Swedish botanist and explorer).
People
Alastor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alastor as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alastor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alastor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 337 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alastor going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,017,075 US residents.
Is Alastor a common name?
We classify Alastor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alastor most popular?
The single biggest year for Alastor was 2024, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alastor is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alastor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alastor a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alastor in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alastor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alastor in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alastor can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Alastor?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.