Alfonsa
A feminine name of Spanish origin referring to the nobility or brave fighter.
Name Census estimates that about 78 living Americans carry the first name Alfonsa. It is a predominantly male name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Alfonsa today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alfonsa births was 1947 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alfonsa. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Alfonsa is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alfonsas were born before 1964.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Alfonsa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
78
~ 1 in 4,394,286 Americans
Peak year
1947
11 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1972 SSA rank
#4,454
Tracked since 1919
Census
Alfonsa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 446 people with the first name Alfonsa, which placed it at #22,352 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
#22,352
National first-name rank
People counted
446
446 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
65.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alfonsa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alfonsa is Hispanic at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and White (11.2%). 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 Alfonsa 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 Alfonsa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino65.2% · 291
- Black or African American14.3% · 64
- White11.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 34
- Two or more races1.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Alfonsa
Alfonsa leans heavily male at 92.9% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Alfonsa as a male name
- Ranked #4,454 in 1972
- 6 male births in 1972
- Peak: 1947 (11 births)
Alfonsa as a female name
- Ranked #4,734 in 1928
- 5 female births in 1928
- Peak: 1924 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Alfonsa on both sides of the split. Of the 448 people counted with this name, 96 were male (21.4%) and 352 were female (78.6%).
Popularity
Alfonsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alfonsa from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alfonsa 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 Alfonsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alfonsa
The name Alfonsa is a feminine form of the male name Alfonso, which has its origins in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. It is derived from the Germanic name Adalfuns, which is a combination of the words "adal" meaning "noble" and "funs" meaning "ready" or "prepared." The name has been in use since medieval times and was particularly popular among the Iberian nobility.
In the late 9th century, the name Alfonso was borne by several kings of Asturias and León in northern Spain. One of the most notable figures was Alfonso III, also known as Alfonso the Great (848-910), who united the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and drove back the Moors during his reign. The name gained widespread popularity across the region due to his military and political achievements.
The feminine form Alfonsa was likely derived from Alfonso during the same period, as it was common practice to create female versions of male names by adding the suffix "-a" or "-sa." The earliest recorded use of the name Alfonsa can be traced back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various documents and records from the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Alfonsa was Alfonsa of Aragon (1103-1135), a Spanish noblewoman and the daughter of King Alfonso I of Aragon and Urraca of Castile. She played a significant role in the dynastic struggles between Aragon and Castile during the 12th century.
Another prominent figure was Alfonsa of Villena (1469-1520), a Spanish noblewoman and patron of the arts during the Renaissance period. She was known for her literary salons and her support of writers and artists, including the renowned playwright Lope de Vega.
In the 16th century, Alfonsa de la Cueva (1520-1597) was a Spanish mystic and writer who was known for her spiritual works and her correspondence with prominent religious figures of her time, including Saint Teresa of Ávila.
The name Alfonsa also found its way into the royal families of Portugal. One notable figure was Alfonsa of Portugal (1478-1530), a Portuguese infanta and the daughter of King João II of Portugal. She served as the regent of Portugal during the minority of her nephew, King João III.
Another prominent Alfonsa was Alfonsa de Ávila (1468-1520), a Spanish nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Conception of Our Lady. She was known for her spiritual writings and her efforts to reform the religious orders of her time.
While the name Alfonsa has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly in Latin America and the Hispanic communities in the United States. However, its use has generally been less common than the male version, Alfonso.
People
Alfonsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alfonsa 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
Alfonsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alfonsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 78 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alfonsa 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 4,394,286 US residents.
Is Alfonsa a common name?
We classify Alfonsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alfonsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Alfonsa was 1947, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alfonsa is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alfonsa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 446 people with the name Alfonsa, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,352 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 Alfonsa 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 Alfonsa?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Alfonsa on both sides of the split. Of the 448 people counted with this name, 96 were male (21.4%) and 352 were female (78.6%). 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 Alfonsa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alfonsa is Hispanic at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and White (11.2%). 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 Alfonsa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Alfonsa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.2% (291 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 Alfonsa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alfonsa a male name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Alfonsa 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.
Is Alfonsa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alfonsa 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 Alfonsa 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 Americans are named Alfonsa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.