Alany
An Aramaic name meaning "oak tree" or "elm."
Name Census estimates that about 763 living Americans carry the first name Alany. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alany today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alany births was 2024 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alany. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
763
~ 1 in 449,219 Americans
Peak year
2024
80 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,295
Tracked since 1997
Census
Alany in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 498 people with the first name Alany, which placed it at #20,655 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,655
National first-name rank
People counted
498
498 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alany
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alany is Hispanic at 89.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Black (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Alany described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Alany at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.6% · 446
- White4.8% · 24
- Black or African American3.8% · 19
- Two or more races0.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Alany: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alany from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 333 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alany remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alany by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alany during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alanys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Alany, while Arizona, Colorado, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alany
The given name Alany has its roots in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages in human history, dating back to around 3500 BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "alani," which means "to shine" or "to glow." This suggests that the name may have been given to children with the hope that they would bring light and radiance into the world.
Alany was a relatively uncommon name during the Sumerian era, but it gained some prominence in the later Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations. It is mentioned in a few ancient cuneiform tablets and inscriptions, though its use was still relatively rare. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Alany of Uruk, a prominent scribe and scholar who lived in the city of Uruk (modern-day Warka, Iraq) around the 7th century BCE.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alany experienced a brief resurgence in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, possibly due to its association with the Arabic word "alaniah," which means "brightness" or "luminosity." One notable bearer of the name during this period was Alany al-Andalusi, a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Andalusia (modern-day Spain) who lived in the 10th century CE.
As the centuries passed, the name Alany became increasingly rare, though it was occasionally used in various cultural contexts. One example is Alany Khorasani, a Persian poet and mystic who lived in the 13th century CE and is known for his spiritual verses and teachings.
In more recent times, the name Alany has seen a modest revival, particularly in certain parts of the Middle East and North Africa. One notable figure was Alany Bey, an Egyptian diplomat and scholar who lived in the late 19th century and played a key role in promoting cultural exchange between Egypt and Europe.
Another individual of note was Alany Karim, an Iraqi writer and activist who lived in the 20th century and was known for her work in advocating for women's rights and social justice issues.
While not a widespread name globally, Alany has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in the regions where it originated. Its connection to concepts of light, radiance, and brightness have given it a unique meaning and appeal throughout the centuries.
People
Alany + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alany as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alany: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alany?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alany going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 449,219 US residents.
Is Alany a common name?
We classify Alany as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 769 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alany most popular?
The single biggest year for Alany was 2024, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alany is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alany in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 498 people with the name Alany, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,655 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Alany in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Alany?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alany leans strongly female. 485 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 11 male bearers (2.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Alany?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alany is Hispanic at 89.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Black (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Alany most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Alany in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (446 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alany in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alany a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alany in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alany still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alany in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alany can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Alany as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Alany on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.