Alcides
Of Greek origin, meaning "mighty force" or "strong leader".
Name Census estimates that about 504 living Americans carry the first name Alcides. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alcides today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alcides births was 1988 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alcides. 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
504
~ 1 in 680,068 Americans
Peak year
1988
17 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,981
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Alcides: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alcides from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 94 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Alcides remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alcides 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 Alcides during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alcides' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Alcides, while California, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alcides
The given name Alcides has its roots in Greek mythology and culture. It is derived from the name Alcides, which was an epithet for the Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene. The name is believed to be a combination of the Greek words "alke" meaning strength or courage, and "kleos" meaning glory or renown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alcides is found in the writings of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around 700 BC. In his work "Theogony," Hesiod refers to Heracles as Alcides, the powerful son of Zeus.
In ancient Roman times, the name Alcides was also used as a reference to Heracles, who was known as Hercules in Roman mythology. The Roman poet Ovid, who lived in the 1st century BC, mentions Alcides in his famous work "Metamorphoses."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alcides. One of the earliest was Alcides of Miletus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC and was a student of the renowned thinker Pythagoras.
In the 16th century, Alcides Gentili, an Italian jurist and writer, was born in 1552. He made significant contributions to the field of international law and is considered one of the founders of modern jurisprudence.
Another notable Alcides was Alcides d'Orbigny, a French naturalist and explorer born in 1802. He is renowned for his extensive research and documentation of the natural history of South America, particularly in the fields of paleontology and zoology.
In the 19th century, Alcides Arguedas, a Bolivian writer and politician born in 1879, gained prominence for his literary works and his advocacy for Indigenous rights in Bolivia.
Lastly, Alcides Ghiggia, a Uruguayan footballer born in 1926, is remembered for scoring the winning goal for Uruguay against Brazil in the final match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which is considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.
People
Alcides + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alcides 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
Alcides: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alcides?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 504 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alcides 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 680,068 US residents.
Is Alcides a common name?
We classify Alcides as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 528 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alcides most popular?
The single biggest year for Alcides was 1988, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alcides is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alcides a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alcides in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.