Aleta
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "winged one".
Name Census estimates that about 4,031 living Americans carry the first name Aleta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aleta today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aleta births was 1947 (262 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aleta. 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 Aleta with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.0K
~ 1 in 85,030 Americans
Peak year
1947
262 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,285
Tracked since 1892
Census
Aleta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,683 people with the first name Aleta, which placed it at #4,111 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
#4,111
National first-name rank
People counted
4.7K
4,683 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aleta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleta is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Aleta 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 Aleta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.2% · 3,333
- Black or African American16.8% · 788
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 216
- Two or more races4.0% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 57
Popularity
Aleta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aleta from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,492 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aleta 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 Aleta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aletas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the most babies named Aleta, while Utah, Mississippi, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aleta
The name Aleta has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the word "aletheia," which means "truth." It is believed to have emerged during the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Aletheia was the personification of truth, depicted as a young woman carrying a mirror. The mirror was a symbol of her ability to reveal the true nature of things, reflecting reality without distortion.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aleta can be traced back to ancient Greek texts and inscriptions. It was a relatively uncommon name but held great significance due to its association with the concept of truth, which was highly valued in Greek culture.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Aleta was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. While little is known about her life, her existence is documented in the writings of other philosophers of that era, indicating the name's use during that time period.
In the Middle Ages, the name Aleta was sporadically used in various regions of Europe, particularly in areas influenced by the Greek culture and language. It was during this time that variations of the name, such as Aletta and Alethea, emerged.
In the Renaissance period, the name Aleta gained some popularity among intellectuals and artists who were rediscovering and appreciating the classical Greek heritage. One notable figure was Aleta Ferrante, an Italian painter born in 1490, who was renowned for her portraits and religious works.
Another prominent individual with the name Aleta was Aleta Jacobsdochter, a Dutch poet and writer who lived from 1589 to 1654. She was celebrated for her contributions to Dutch literature and her advocacy for women's education.
In the 19th century, the name Aleta gained wider recognition due to its use by authors and playwrights in their literary works. One such example is Aleta Slade, a character in the novel "The Blithedale Romance" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1852.
Another notable figure was Aleta Frances Willard, an American educator and women's rights activist born in 1819. She played a significant role in the establishment of the World's Women's Christian Temperance Union and advocated for various social reforms.
While the name Aleta has maintained a certain degree of rarity throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds, each contributing to its rich cultural heritage and association with the concept of truth.
People
Aleta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aleta 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
Aleta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aleta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,031 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aleta 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 85,030 US residents.
Is Aleta a common name?
We classify Aleta as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aleta most popular?
The single biggest year for Aleta was 1947, when 262 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aleta is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aleta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,683 people with the name Aleta, or 1.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,111 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 Aleta 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 Aleta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aleta appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,691 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Aleta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleta is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Aleta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aleta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (3,333 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 Aleta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aleta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aleta in the SSA data are female. 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 Aleta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aleta 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 Aleta 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 are called Aleta?
You can see how many Americans are named Aleta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.