Alder
Tree with smooth cone-bearing bark and small woody fruit.
Name Census estimates that about 1,249 living Americans carry the first name Alder. It is a predominantly male name (95.4% of registrations). The average person named Alder today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alder births was 2024 (129 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alder. 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 Alder with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Alder is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 59 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Alder is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 274,423 Americans
Peak year
2024
129 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,421
Tracked since 1903
Census
Alder in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 899 people with the first name Alder, which placed it at #13,432 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,432
National first-name rank
People counted
899
899 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alder
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alder is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Alder described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Alder at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.7% · 555
- Hispanic or Latino25.3% · 227
- Two or more races6.1% · 55
- Black or African American4.4% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Alder
Alder leans heavily male at 95.4% of total registrations, but 59 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Alder as a male name
- Ranked #1,421 in 2024
- 129 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (129 births)
Alder as a female name
- Ranked #15,274 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2017 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alder leans strongly male. 790 people counted with this name were male (87.7%), compared with 111 female bearers (12.3%).
Popularity
Alder: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alder from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 599 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
Alder 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 Alder during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alders live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Oregon, Washington, California recorded the most babies named Alder, while Virginia, New York, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alder
The name Alder has its origins in Old English and Germanic languages, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "alor," meaning "alder tree," which is a species of tree belonging to the birch family.
This name was likely first used as a surname or byname, referring to someone who lived near an alder tree or grove. Over time, it transitioned into use as a given name, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alder is found in the Domesday Book, a historical record commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Alor" and "Aloyr," indicating its use during the Norman period.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alder was occasionally mentioned in literary works and historical accounts, although its usage was relatively rare. One notable example is Alder of Winchester, a 12th-century scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on biblical exegesis.
During the Renaissance and Reformation periods, the name Alder continued to be used, albeit infrequently. One notable bearer was Alder Everitt (1535-1592), an English clergyman and one of the translators involved in the creation of the King James Bible.
In the 17th century, Alder gained some prominence as a given name in Puritan communities in New England. Alder Brewster (1619-1684) was a prominent figure in the early history of Massachusetts, serving as a military officer and local leader.
Another significant figure was Alder Philbrick (1689-1771), a colonial American farmer and early settler in New Hampshire. He played a role in the establishment of the town of Rye and was involved in various land disputes with neighboring communities.
As the name Alder continued to be used over the centuries, other notable individuals bearing this name included Alder Belknap (1751-1826), an American lawyer and jurist who served as a justice on the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, and Alder Crosby (1808-1885), a Baptist minister and author from Maine.
While not a widely popular name throughout history, Alder has maintained a presence as a unique and nature-inspired choice, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its connection to the alder tree and its Old English roots lend it a sense of rustic charm and cultural significance.
People
Alder + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alder 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
Alder: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alder?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alder 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 274,423 US residents.
Is Alder a common name?
We classify Alder as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,291 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alder most popular?
The single biggest year for Alder was 2024, when 129 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alder is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alder in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 899 people with the name Alder, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,432 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Alder in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Alder?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alder leans strongly male. 790 people counted with this name were male (87.7%), compared with 111 female bearers (12.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Alder?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alder is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Alder most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.7% (555 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Alder in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alder a male name?
Yes, 95.4% of people registered as Alder 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 Alder still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alder 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 Alder 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.
How many people have the name Alder?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.