Boys' name · peaked in 1904
Alton name popularity since 1925
38,248 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Alton (0.6% girls, 99.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1952 or earlier, so the typical Alton is about 74 years old in 2026. Alton peaked in 1904 as the #78 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 38,248
- Named Alton, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1904
- #78 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,602 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.4% boys
- 243 girls · 38,005 boys
- Most popular in
- Louisiana
- 5.51× its national share
Peak year is the year Alton made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Alton births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1937. Measured as a share of all babies, Alton peaked earlier, in 1904.
- Steepest fall: Between 1937 and 1942, Alton's share of baby boys fell by 42%, from 1 in 1,280 to 1 in 2,210.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Alton's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Alton.
Decade by decade
Babies named Alton in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 49 | 3,777 | – |
| 1930s | 69 | 7,215 | #188 |
| 1940s | 41 | 6,373 | #241 |
| 1950s | 30 | 5,989 | #288 |
| 1960s | 34 | 4,376 | #389 |
| 1970s | 5 | 2,855 | #515 |
| 1980s | 15 | 2,211 | #607 |
| 1990s | 0 | 1,684 | #887 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,466 | #1,183 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,427 | #1,239 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 632 | #1,602 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.1% of babies named Alton from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Alton is most popular
The index compares Alton's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Alton.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 5.51× | 3,328 |
| North Carolina | 3.96× | 3,775 |
| Mississippi | 3.55× | 1,445 |
| Georgia | 3.22× | 2,991 |
| Maine | 3.03× | 436 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Alton's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Alton.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Alton (1904).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data