Alioune
A masculine West African name meaning "child of peace".
Name Census estimates that about 168 living Americans carry the first name Alioune. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alioune today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alioune births was 2003 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alioune. 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 Alioune with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
168
~ 1 in 2,040,204 Americans
Peak year
2003
11 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,325
Tracked since 1996
Census
Alioune in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 394 people with the first name Alioune, which placed it at #24,446 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
#24,446
National first-name rank
People counted
394
394 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alioune
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alioune is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and White (1.8%). 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 Alioune 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 Alioune at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.2% · 371
- Two or more races3.0% · 12
- White1.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 4
Popularity
Alioune: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alioune 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 66 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alioune 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 Alioune 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 Alioune
The name Alioune has its origins in the Wolof language spoken by the Wolof people of Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic name Ali, which means "high" or "exalted." The name gained prominence in the West African region during the spread of Islam in the 7th century.
Historical records suggest that the name Alioune was first used in the Senegambian region, particularly among the Wolof ethnic group. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Alioune Ndiaye, a renowned Wolof scholar and Islamic teacher who lived in the 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name gained wider recognition with Alioune Diop, a prominent Muslim cleric and spiritual leader in Senegambia. He played a significant role in the spread of Islam in the region and is credited with founding several Quranic schools.
The 19th century saw the rise of Alioune Sarr, a Wolof military leader and diplomat who played a crucial role in the negotiations between the French colonial authorities and the Wolof kingdoms. His diplomatic efforts helped prevent further conflict and loss of life during the colonial era.
One of the most notable figures in the 20th century was Alioune Diop, a Senegalese intellectual and cultural theorist born in 1910. He founded the influential journal Présence Africaine, which became a platform for promoting African literature, art, and culture. Diop's work played a vital role in the Negritude movement and the intellectual renaissance of Africa.
Another prominent figure was Alioune Blondin Beye, a Senegalese politician and diplomat born in 1915. He served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal after the country gained independence from France in 1960. Beye played a crucial role in shaping Senegal's post-colonial political landscape and promoting economic development.
While the name Alioune has its roots in the Wolof culture and the Islamic tradition, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition globally. Throughout history, individuals bearing this name have made significant contributions in various fields, including education, religion, politics, and cultural movements.
People
Alioune + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alioune 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
Alioune: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alioune?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 168 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alioune 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 2,040,204 US residents.
Is Alioune a common name?
We classify Alioune as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alioune most popular?
The single biggest year for Alioune was 2003, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alioune is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alioune in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 394 people with the name Alioune, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,446 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 Alioune 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 Alioune?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alioune appears almost entirely male. Of the 398 people counted with this name, 99.2% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Alioune?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alioune is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and White (1.8%). 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 Alioune most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Alioune in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (371 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 Alioune in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alioune a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alioune 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 Alioune still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alioune 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 Alioune 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 common is the name Alioune?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Alioune on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.