boys' name ★ peaked 1995

Alec

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #977 Trend ↓ Falling 45%

A diminutive of the male given name Alexander, from Ancient Greek, of Scottish origin.

Rank 2025
#977
among boys · ↓97 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
234
named Alec · -15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,299
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1995
3,457 babies
All-time total
55,489
#471 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Alec popularity over time

55,489 babies have been named Alec 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
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 66 66 7 – #571
1890s – 61 61 6 -8% #603
1900s – 104 104 10 +70% #612
1910s – 419 419 42 +303% #708
1920s – 513 513 51 +22% #816
1930s – 299 299 30 -42% #1,032
1940s – 443 443 44 +48% #831
1950s – 653 653 65 +47% #766
1960s – 974 974 97 +49% #683
1970s – 901 901 90 -7% #786
1980s 58 3,000 3,058 306 +239% #371
1990s 214 25,908 26,122 2,612 +754% #109
2000s 54 13,727 13,781 1,378 -47% #156
2010s 11 6,080 6,091 609 -56% #417
2020s (to 2025) – 2,004 2,004 334 -45% #588

Where Alec 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 212 0.12 outside top 500
2027 195 0.11 outside top 500
2028 182 0.11 outside top 500
2029 171 0.10 outside top 500
2030 163 0.10 outside top 500

Where Alec is most popular

Boys named Alec per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.178 per 1,000. Strongest in Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

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 Alec 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
Arizona 55 0.336 +89%
New Mexico 10 0.303 +71%
California 266 0.291 +64%
Florida 134 0.283 +59%
Texas 237 0.269 +51%
Louisiana 24 0.235 +32%
Utah 20 0.210 +18%
Michigan 40 0.195 +10%
Pennsylvania 49 0.185 ≈ national
Alabama 20 0.183 ≈ national
North Carolina 41 0.161 -10%
Virginia 30 0.158 -11%
Illinois 40 0.157 -12%
Washington 24 0.147 -17%
Idaho 6 0.147 -17%
Missouri 20 0.144 -19%
Kentucky 14 0.140 -21%
Ohio 36 0.136 -24%
Colorado 17 0.132 -26%
Georgia 33 0.130 -27%
New York 56 0.129 -27%
Indiana 19 0.118 -33%
Nevada 6 0.105 -41%
New Jersey 21 0.104 -41%
Tennessee 17 0.094 -47%
Wisconsin 11 0.093 -48%
Oklahoma 8 0.090 -49%
Kansas 6 0.087 -51%
Massachusetts 12 0.087 -51%
Maryland 6 0.050 -72%
South Carolina 5 0.048 -73%
Minnesota 5 0.041 -77%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
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 Alec

Alec is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #977 in 2025 with 234 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 55,489 American babies have been named Alec. Its peak came in 1995, when 3,457 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Alec stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Alec?

The median living Alec is about 27 years old; half are between 21 and 31. An estimated 52 thousand people named Alec are alive in the United States today.

median 27 020406080100

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

Alec 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 – – 234 #977
2024 – – 274 #880
2023 – – 290 #841
2022 – – 346 #745
2021 – – 390 #682
2020 – – 470 #588
2019 – – 518 #543
2018 – – 521 #539
2017 – – 575 #506
2016 6 #14,426 617 #492
2015 – – 665 #456
2014 – – 624 #467
2013 – – 626 #453
2012 – – 606 #449
2011 – – 659 #421
2010 5 #17,130 669 #417
2009 – – 730 #406
2008 6 #15,478 774 #389
2007 – – 872 #363
2006 – – 982 #329
2005 7 #13,073 1,127 #292
2004 5 #16,208 1,333 #246
2003 10 #9,703 1,526 #226
2002 6 #13,661 1,749 #206
2001 11 #8,779 2,155 #173
2000 9 #9,912 2,479 #156
1995 37 #3,090 3,420 #112
1990 16 #5,554 978 #271
1985 7 #8,341 290 #514
1980 – – 125 #782
1975 – – 80 #916
1970 – – 105 #796
1965 – – 116 #692
1960 – – 100 #764
1955 – – 54 #1,023
1950 – – 50 #977
1945 – – 36 #1,078
1940 – – 32 #1,183
1935 – – 23 #1,422
1930 – – 37 #1,151
1925 – – 53 #924
1920 – – 67 #816
1915 – – 57 #804
1910 – – 18 #708
1905 – – 12 #700
1900 – – 15 #650
1895 – – 5 #1,082
1890 – – 11 #603
1885 – – 9 #641
1880 – – 11 #571

Famous people named Alec

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

  1. 1 Alec Baldwin Alec Baldwin American actor (born 1958) Contemporary
  2. 2 Alec Guinness Alec Guinness English actor (1914–2000) Contemporary
  3. 3 Alec Douglas-Home Alec Douglas-Home Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1964 1903–1995 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Alec Benjamin Alec Benjamin American singer and songwriter (born 1994) Contemporary
  5. 5 Alec McCowen Alec McCowen English actor (1925–2017) Contemporary
  6. 6 Alec Jeffreys Alec Jeffreys British geneticist (born 1950) Contemporary
  7. 7 Alec Burks Alec Burks American basketball player (born 1991) Contemporary
  8. 8 Alec Issigonis Alec Issigonis British car designer (1906–1988) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Alec?

The median living Alec is about 27 years old. Half of all living Alecs are between 21 and 31 years old.

How many people named Alec are alive today?

An estimated 52 thousand people named Alec are alive in the United States, based on 55,489 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Alec mean?

A diminutive of the male given name Alexander, from Ancient Greek, of Scottish origin.

How popular is the name Alec in 2025?

Alec ranked #977 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 234 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Alec?

55,489 babies have been named Alec in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Alec most popular?

Alec peaked in 1995, when 3,457 newborns received the name.

Is Alec a boy or girl name?

Alec is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Alec rising or falling?

Alec is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Alec become more popular?

Alec is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 163 boys named Alec 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 Alec?

Well-known people named Alec include Alec Baldwin (actor), Alec Guinness (actor), Alec Douglas-Home (politician).

Names like Alec

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

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