Alda vs Alder
American parents have registered 4,976 Aldas since 1880, against 1,431 Alders. But in 2025 it was Alder that was commoner, 139 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Alda Alder
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 145 years in which either name was published, Alda for 117 years and Alder for 28 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Alda | Alder | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 4,976 | 1,431 |
| Most in one year | 191 | 139 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 139 |
| Estimated living today | 1,100 | 1,400 |
| Median age today | 68 | 5 |
| Peak year | 1918 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 491st girls | 1,401st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 1,401st |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1903 |
| Girls / boys | 4,966 / 10 | 68 / 1,363 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Aldas alive today are over 68; half the Alders are over 5. That is 63 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Alda Pennsylvania (6.2×), North Carolina (5.2×), Massachusetts (2.1×)
- Alder Oregon (26.8×), Washington (16.6×), Colorado (5.3×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Alda and Alder.