boys' name ★ peaked 2024

Alden

Meaning old Gender Boy · 5% girls Rank 2025 #598 Trend ↑ Rising 18%

From Old English Ealdwine, from eald (“old”) +‎ wine (“friend”); equivalent to Alwin.

Rank 2025
#598
among boys · ↓22 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
498
named Alden · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,566
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2024
519 babies
All-time total
19,173
#870 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Alden popularity over time

19,173 babies have been named Alden since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 77 77 8 – #528
1890s – 94 94 9 +22% #507
1900s – 159 159 16 +69% #463
1910s – 1,187 1,187 119 +647% #426
1920s 5 1,748 1,753 175 +48% #442
1930s 6 1,290 1,296 130 -26% #448
1940s – 1,049 1,049 105 -19% #545
1950s 20 939 959 96 -9% #699
1960s – 720 720 72 -25% #821
1970s 27 497 524 52 -27% #1,063
1980s 93 800 893 89 +70% #954
1990s 183 1,310 1,493 149 +67% #783
2000s 283 2,277 2,560 256 +71% #729
2010s 195 3,444 3,639 364 +42% #623
2020s (to 2025) 140 2,630 2,770 462 +27% #576

Where Alden is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 493 0.29 outside top 500
2027 505 0.30 outside top 500
2028 515 0.30 outside top 500
2029 524 0.31 outside top 500
2030 532 0.31 outside top 500

Where Alden is most popular

Boys named Alden per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.260 per 1,000. Strongest in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Alden born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Maine 49 2.53 +872%
New Hampshire 30 1.35 +420%
Vermont 7 1.11 +329%
Oregon 72 0.949 +265%
Washington 105 0.642 +147%
Massachusetts 82 0.596 +130%
Michigan 93 0.454 +75%
Colorado 58 0.449 +73%
Wisconsin 53 0.447 +72%
Virginia 84 0.443 +70%
Minnesota 54 0.440 +70%
Alaska 5 0.420 +62%
Kentucky 40 0.399 +53%
Idaho 15 0.367 +41%
Indiana 52 0.324 +25%
Hawaii 5 0.322 +24%
Missouri 44 0.317 +22%
Ohio 84 0.317 +22%
Tennessee 57 0.316 +22%
Utah 30 0.314 +21%
Pennsylvania 81 0.305 +17%
Montana 5 0.284 +9%
North Carolina 69 0.270 ≈ national
Alabama 29 0.265 ≈ national
Iowa 18 0.261 ≈ national
Georgia 66 0.261 ≈ national
Arkansas 16 0.253 ≈ national
Oklahoma 22 0.249 ≈ national
California 220 0.241 -7%
Maryland 27 0.226 -13%
Illinois 55 0.215 -17%
South Carolina 21 0.203 -22%
Kansas 13 0.190 -27%
Nebraska 8 0.184 -29%
Connecticut 12 0.177 -32%
Florida 79 0.167 -36%
New York 71 0.164 -37%
Arizona 26 0.159 -39%
Texas 138 0.157 -40%
West Virginia 5 0.153 -41%
New Jersey 24 0.119 -54%
Louisiana 11 0.108 -59%
Mississippi 5 0.088 -66%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Alden

Alden is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #598 in 2025 with 479 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 19,173 American babies have been named Alden. Its peak came in 2024, when 519 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Alden stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Alden?

The median living Alden is about 18 years old; half are between 7 and 35. An estimated 14 thousand people named Alden are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Alden year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 19 #6,125 479 #598
2024 25 #5,155 494 #576
2023 25 #5,134 431 #640
2022 19 #6,241 445 #627
2021 31 #4,415 394 #676
2020 21 #5,672 387 #672
2019 15 #7,360 435 #623
2018 20 #6,024 411 #638
2017 22 #5,668 409 #634
2016 16 #7,249 392 #660
2015 16 #7,287 340 #725
2014 20 #6,220 337 #714
2013 19 #6,475 331 #709
2012 26 #5,259 294 #772
2011 16 #7,454 244 #864
2010 25 #5,423 251 #841
2009 19 #6,818 242 #868
2008 28 #5,148 222 #920
2007 28 #5,103 275 #786
2006 31 #4,580 249 #816
2005 23 #5,442 258 #769
2004 41 #3,566 257 #735
2003 37 #3,734 251 #729
2002 25 #4,775 178 #906
2001 25 #4,695 159 #968
2000 26 #4,531 186 #857
1995 17 #5,446 142 #931
1990 9 #8,513 119 #949
1985 13 #5,356 86 #984
1980 – – 57 #1,214
1975 8 #6,495 54 #1,147
1970 – – 59 #1,063
1965 – – 76 #843
1960 – – 86 #821
1955 6 #5,214 97 #739
1950 – – 89 #726
1945 – – 105 #592
1940 – – 116 #545
1935 – – 106 #558
1930 – – 146 #490
1925 – – 173 #458
1920 – – 180 #450
1915 – – 155 #436
1910 – – 13 #861
1905 – – 19 #526
1900 – – 13 #699
1895 – – 8 #795
1890 – – 10 #629
1885 – – 5 #939
1880 – – 9 #641

Famous people named Alden

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Alden Ehrenreich Alden Ehrenreich American actor (born 1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Alden, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Alden?

The median living Alden is about 18 years old. Half of all living Aldens are between 7 and 35 years old.

How many people named Alden are alive today?

An estimated 14 thousand people named Alden are alive in the United States, based on 19,173 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Alden mean?

From Old English Ealdwine, from eald (“old”) +‎ wine (“friend”); equivalent to Alwin.

How popular is the name Alden in 2025?

Alden ranked #598 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 479 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Alden?

19,173 babies have been named Alden in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Alden most popular?

Alden peaked in 2024, when 519 newborns received the name.

Is Alden a boy or girl name?

Alden is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 95% of babies with the name.

Is the name Alden rising or falling?

Alden is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Alden become more popular?

Alden is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 532 boys named Alden in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Alden?

Well-known people named Alden include Alden Ehrenreich (actor).

Names like Alden

Names that sound and feel close to Alden: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Alden with similar names → More names starting with A →