Alter

#5,867 in 2025Boys' name

Old

Alter has been given to 426 babies in the U.S. since 1915. In 2025 it ranked #5,867 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2012, with 21 recorded.

Babies named Alter, 2025

1 in 221,000

Alter over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Alter: meaning, origin, and history

Old

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Alter means

Alter means “old”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 408 boys were recorded with the name Alter between 1915 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 21 in 2012; its best national rank was #3,281 in 1933.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #9,609 in 2020 to #5,867 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,512 in 2015 to #5,867 in 2025.

In the United States, 18 girls were recorded with the name Alter between 1914 and 1922. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1914; its best national rank was #2,887 in 1914.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

U.S. Social Security Administration: national name data and limitations

How common is Alter?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 221,000; 15 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 114,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #5,867; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 153,194 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Alter sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 153,194 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Alter. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Alters were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Alter was born before 2005 — so the typical Alter is around 20 today.

Median birth year: 2005; About 20 years old
Biggest decade: 2000s; 26.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 62.5%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 367; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2000s — 26.2% of all recorded uses (107).

Is Alter rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: +3,742; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: +1,645; Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago: 1.50×; More babies than then
Share of its own peak: 71.4%; Peak was 2012 (21)
Years since peak: 13; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 33.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #3,281; 1933

Spellings of Alter

Alter is not the most common spelling — Walter is, with 21.0% against Alter's 0.01%.

Walter21.0%631,172
Peter19.6%589,588
Albert16.4%491,861
Alex9.5%286,169
Allen9.0%271,796
Carter6.9%206,833
Elmer4.3%129,591
Asher3.7%111,227

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Alter is used

Across 1910–2025, Alter was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 102,418 across all states with data. It was least common in New Jersey (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1New York1 in 100,000
2New Jersey1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Alter has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Alter by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #5,867
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 3,742
Best rank ever: #3,281; 1933
Peak year: 2012; 21 that year
First recorded: 1915
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 408
Count in 2025: 15

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,887; 1914
Peak year: 1914; 7 that year
First recorded: 1914
Last recorded: 1922
All-time count: 18
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Alter

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Altan Altair Aster Altay Gunter Master Jeter Altin Sutter Alto Kutter Wynter Mister Altus Pieter Winter Daxter Kharter Jupiter Alta Ester Altariq Cutter Altai

Sibling names for Alter

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Kendyl Hayleigh Shaniya Taniya Jazmyne Rhianna Leigha Jaiden

For a brother

Brennen Jerimiah Jorden Kale Gavyn Tobin Jamarcus Keven

Explore around Alter

Top names of 2012, Alter's peak year The 2010s in full Other names that peaked in 1933 Boys' names starting with A Yiddish Boy Names