Unisex name ★ peaked 2014

Ali

Meaning high, exalted Gender Unisex · 23% girls Rank 2025 #306 Trend → Stable

From Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy, literally “high, exalted”), from the Arabic root ع ل ي (ʕ l y).

Rank 2025
#306
among boys · ↑17 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,160
named Ali · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,531
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2014
1,251 babies
All-time total
44,888
#625 all-time among boys
First recorded
1914
in Social Security records

Ali popularity over time

44,888 babies have been named Ali since 1914, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 5 5 1 – #3,271
1920s – 23 23 2 +360% #3,457
1930s – 50 50 5 +117% #2,685
1940s – 65 65 7 +30% #2,196
1950s – 166 166 17 +155% #1,589
1960s 20 408 428 43 +158% #921
1970s 786 1,733 2,519 252 +489% #455
1980s 1,591 2,846 4,437 444 +76% #487
1990s 2,927 5,140 8,067 807 +82% #391
2000s 2,429 7,735 10,164 1,016 +26% #319
2010s 2,279 9,865 12,144 1,214 +19% #310
2020s (to 2025) 473 6,347 6,820 1,137 -6% #301

Where Ali 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 1,128 0.66 #303
2027 1,139 0.67 #298
2028 1,148 0.67 #294
2029 1,156 0.68 #291
2030 1,162 0.68 #288

Where Ali is most popular

Boys named Ali per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.617 per 1,000. Strongest in Michigan, District of Columbia, and New York.

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 Ali 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
Michigan 710 3.47 +462%
District of Columbia 25 1.69 +174%
New York 548 1.27 +105%
Virginia 205 1.08 +75%
Illinois 259 1.01 +64%
New Jersey 201 0.998 +62%
Maryland 116 0.973 +58%
Massachusetts 116 0.844 +37%
Ohio 223 0.841 +36%
Minnesota 98 0.799 +29%
Washington 115 0.703 +14%
Nevada 38 0.667 +8%
Connecticut 44 0.650 +5%
Pennsylvania 168 0.633 ≈ national
California 558 0.610 ≈ national
Oregon 46 0.606 ≈ national
Texas 517 0.587 -5%
Arizona 93 0.568 -8%
Georgia 143 0.564 -9%
Colorado 66 0.511 -17%
Florida 242 0.511 -17%
Louisiana 52 0.508 -18%
North Carolina 127 0.497 -19%
Missouri 68 0.491 -20%
Iowa 29 0.421 -32%
Kentucky 42 0.419 -32%
Tennessee 70 0.388 -37%
Delaware 5 0.330 -47%
Utah 31 0.325 -47%
Indiana 52 0.324 -47%
Nebraska 14 0.322 -48%
Mississippi 17 0.299 -52%
Wisconsin 35 0.295 -52%
South Carolina 28 0.271 -56%
Idaho 11 0.269 -56%
Maine 5 0.258 -58%
Kansas 17 0.248 -60%
Oklahoma 20 0.226 -63%
Arkansas 13 0.205 -67%
Alabama 22 0.201 -67%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
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 Ali

Ali is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #306 in 2025 with 1,116 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1914, 44,888 American babies have been named Ali, about 77% boys and 23% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2014, when 1,251 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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

How old are people named Ali?

The median living Ali is about 18 years old; half are between 9 and 30. An estimated 44 thousand people named Ali 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.

Ali 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 44 #3,463 1,116 #306
2024 71 #2,508 1,066 #323
2023 74 #2,416 1,066 #311
2022 88 #2,157 1,124 #301
2021 103 #1,911 958 #339
2020 93 #2,006 1,017 #324
2019 130 #1,629 1,069 #314
2018 111 #1,830 1,094 #310
2017 118 #1,770 1,116 #310
2016 154 #1,485 1,087 #322
2015 190 #1,280 1,061 #325
2014 240 #1,068 1,011 #334
2013 251 #996 902 #351
2012 307 #865 872 #352
2011 391 #710 803 #372
2010 387 #724 850 #357
2009 284 #941 818 #371
2008 320 #872 742 #398
2007 244 #1,075 783 #386
2006 241 #1,060 827 #359
2005 238 #1,021 760 #380
2004 284 #865 726 #379
2003 188 #1,149 810 #344
2002 193 #1,098 870 #319
2001 202 #1,057 715 #373
2000 235 #919 684 #380
1995 291 #712 517 #442
1990 308 #688 440 #472
1985 160 #964 283 #519
1980 69 #1,657 249 #545
1975 66 #1,527 163 #633
1970 33 #2,308 77 #911
1965 – – 46 #1,094
1960 6 #5,706 25 #1,619
1955 – – 17 #1,904
1950 – – 14 #2,021
1945 – – 7 #2,749
1940 – – 8 #2,672
1935 – – – –
1930 – – 7 #3,296
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ali

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

  1. 1 Ali Khamenei Ali Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran from 1989 to 2026 b. 1939 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Ali Ali Shia Imam (632–661) and Rashidun caliph (656–661) 601–661 · Medieval
  3. 3 Ali MacGraw Ali MacGraw American actress (born 1939) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ali Daei Ali Daei Iranian footballer and manager (born 1969) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ali al-Sistani Ali al-Sistani Islamic scholar (born 1930) Contemporary
  6. 6 Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh President of Yemen from 1978 to 2012 1947–2017 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Ali Hassan al-Majid Ali Hassan al-Majid Iraqi military officer and politician (1941–2010) Contemporary
  8. 8 Ali Hassan Salameh Ali Hassan Salameh Palestinian militant (1941–1979) 1940–1979 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Iranian sociologist and philosopher (1933–1977) Contemporary
  10. 10 Ali Farka Touré Ali Farka Touré Malian singer and musician (1939–2006) Contemporary
  11. 11 Ali al-Hadi Ali al-Hadi Tenth of the Twelve Shia Imams (828–868) 829–868 · Medieval
  12. 12 Ali of Hejaz Ali of Hejaz King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca (1879–1935) 19th century
  13. 13 Ali Mahdi Muhammad Ali Mahdi Muhammad President of Somalia from 1991 to 2000 b. 1939 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Ali Asadov Ali Asadov Prime Minister of Azerbaijan since 2019 b. 1956 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin Great-grandson of Muhammad and fourth Shia Imam (659–713) Medieval
  16. 16 Ali Hassan Mwinyi Ali Hassan Mwinyi Tanzanian statesman (1925–2024) Contemporary
  17. 17 Ali Sami Yen Ali Sami Yen Turkish footballer and sports manager (1886–1951) 19th century
  18. 18 Ali Nasir Muhammad Ali Nasir Muhammad Leader of South Yemen from 1980 to 1986 b. 1940 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Ali Pasha of Ioannina Ali Pasha of Ioannina Albanian ruler (1740–1822) 1750–1822 · 18th century
  20. 20 Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba President of Gabon from 2009 to 2023 b. 1959 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Ali?

The median living Ali is about 18 years old. Half of all living Alis are between 9 and 30 years old.

How many people named Ali are alive today?

An estimated 44 thousand people named Ali are alive in the United States, based on 44,888 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ali mean?

From Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy, literally “high, exalted”), from the Arabic root ع ل ي (ʕ l y).

How popular is the name Ali in 2025?

Ali ranked #306 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,116 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ali?

44,888 babies have been named Ali in the United States since 1914, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ali most popular?

Ali peaked in 2014, when 1,251 newborns received the name.

Is Ali a boy or girl name?

Ali is used for both: about 23% of babies named Ali have been girls and 77% boys.

Is the name Ali rising or falling?

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

Will Ali become more popular?

Ali looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,162 boys named Ali in 2030, ranking around #288. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ali?

Well-known people named Ali include Ali Khamenei (politician), Ali (religious figure), Ali MacGraw (actor).

Names like Ali

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

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