Alias
An epithet adopted to conceal someone's true name or identity.
Name Census estimates that about 1,079 living Americans carry the first name Alias. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alias today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alias births was 2023 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alias. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Alias with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Alias is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,659 Americans
Peak year
2023
90 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,888
Tracked since 1971
Census
Alias in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,489 people with the first name Alias, which placed it at #9,361 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
#9,361
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
36.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alias
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alias is Hispanic at 36.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.8%) and Black (17.5%). 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 Alias 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 Alias at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino36.4% · 542
- White30.8% · 459
- Black or African American17.5% · 261
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.2% · 62
- Two or more races3.4% · 51
Popularity
Alias: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alias from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 384 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alias 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 Alias during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alias' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Alias, while New Jersey, Georgia, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alias
The name Alias has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to the ancient Roman era. It is derived from the Latin word "alius," which means "other" or "another." This name was often given to individuals who had adopted a different identity or persona.
In ancient Rome, the practice of taking on an alias was not uncommon, particularly among individuals who sought to conceal their true identities for various reasons, such as political dissidents, actors, or those engaged in clandestine activities. The use of an alias provided a layer of anonymity and protection.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Alias can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius, who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. In his work "The Twelve Caesars," Suetonius mentions an individual named Alias who was a confidant of the emperor Nero.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Alias or used it as an alias themselves. One such individual was Alias Vitellius, a Roman general and statesman who lived in the 1st century AD. He was a close ally of the emperor Vitellius and played a significant role in the Year of the Four Emperors.
In the 13th century, an Italian mathematician and philosopher known as Alias of Faenza made important contributions to the field of logic and mathematics. His works, such as the "Treatise on Consequences," influenced the development of logical reasoning.
During the Renaissance period, the name Alias was associated with a famous Italian artist and architect, Alias di Girolamo. Born in 1470, he is renowned for his architectural works, including the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, which houses Leonardo da Vinci's iconic fresco "The Last Supper."
In the realm of literature, the name Alias was used by the English writer and poet Alias Neville, who lived in the 17th century. He is best known for his satirical works that critiqued the social and political climate of his time.
Another notable figure who bore the name Alias was Alias Houdini, a French-American magician and escape artist who lived from 1874 to 1926. He gained worldwide fame for his daring illusions and escape acts, becoming one of the most celebrated performers of his era.
People
Alias + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alias 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
Alias: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alias?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,079 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alias 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 317,659 US residents.
Is Alias a common name?
We classify Alias as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,092 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alias most popular?
The single biggest year for Alias was 2023, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alias is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alias in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,489 people with the name Alias, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,361 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 Alias 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 Alias?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Alias on both sides of the split. Of the 1,500 people counted with this name, 1,132 were male (75.5%) and 368 were female (24.5%). 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 Alias?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alias is Hispanic at 36.4%. The next largest groups are White (30.8%) and Black (17.5%). 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 Alias most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Alias in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.4% (542 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 Alias in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alias a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alias 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 Alias still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alias 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 Alias 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 are named Alias?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.