Alphonsine
A feminine French name derived from the German Adalfuns, meaning "noble and ready".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Alphonsine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alphonsine today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alphonsine births was 1889 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alphonsine. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Alphonsine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1889
8 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,298
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Alphonsine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alphonsine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1880s, with 33 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1880s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alphonsine 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 Alphonsine 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 Alphonsine
The name Alphonsine has its origins in the Late Latin name Alphonsus, which was derived from the Germanic name Adalfuns. This name is composed of the elements "adal" meaning "noble" and "funs" meaning "ready". The name eventually evolved into Alfonso in Spanish and Alphonse in French.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alphonsine was a feminine form of the name Alfonso, used primarily in France and other areas influenced by French culture. It is believed to have first appeared in written records around the 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alphonsine was in the 13th century, when it was borne by Alphonsine of Aragon, a Countess of Poitiers and Duchess of Andria who lived from around 1240 to 1314. She was a member of the House of Barcelona and played a significant role in the politics of the time.
In the 16th century, Alphonsine de Savoie was a French noblewoman and the Duchess of Nemours. She lived from around 1510 to 1568 and was known for her involvement in the French Wars of Religion.
Alphonsine de Murinais, born in 1737 and died in 1798, was a French botanist and writer. She is remembered for her contributions to the study of plants and her work on the flora of the Pyrenees region.
Another notable figure with the name Alphonsine was Alphonsine Plessis, a French painter who lived from 1824 to 1897. She was known for her portrait and genre paintings, and her works are held in various museums and collections.
In the 19th century, Alphonsine Fickinger was a French poet and writer who lived from 1848 to 1920. She was part of the Parnassian literary movement and published several collections of poetry during her lifetime.
While the name Alphonsine has its roots in Late Latin and was popular in certain regions and time periods, it has become less common in modern times. However, it remains a part of the historical record and serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage associated with names and their evolution over time.
People
Alphonsine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alphonsine 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
Alphonsine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alphonsine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alphonsine 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Alphonsine a common name?
We classify Alphonsine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alphonsine most popular?
The single biggest year for Alphonsine was 1889, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alphonsine is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alphonsine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alphonsine 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.
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.