Altonia
Of Latin origin, a feminine name with potential meanings of "high" or "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Altonia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Altonia today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Altonia births was 1972 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Altonia. 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 Altonia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1972
7 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1972 SSA rank
#3,972
Tracked since 1970
Census
Altonia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 105 people with the first name Altonia, which placed it at #52,717 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
#52,717
National first-name rank
People counted
105
105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Altonia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Altonia is Black at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Altonia 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 Altonia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.4% · 96
- White4.8% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Altonia
Altonia is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 12 total registrations, 7 (58.3%) were male and 5 (41.7%) were female.
Altonia as a male name
- Ranked #3,972 in 1972
- 7 male births in 1972
- Peak: 1972 (7 births)
Altonia as a female name
- Ranked #8,019 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1970 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Altonia on both sides of the split. Of the 105 people counted with this name, 37 were male (35.2%) and 68 were female (64.8%).
Popularity
Altonia: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Altonia 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 Altonia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7 | 5 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Altonia
The name Altonia has its origins in the ancient Germanic language, dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Germanic root words "ald" meaning "old" or "ancient" and "tun" meaning "settlement" or "village." This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to an old or established settlement or community.
In the early medieval period, the name Altonia was primarily found in regions inhabited by Germanic tribes, such as present-day Germany, Austria, and parts of northern Europe. It was a name given to both males and females, although its usage was more prevalent among the former.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Altonia can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the 9th century. It mentions an individual named Altonia who was a landowner in the region of modern-day Bavaria, Germany.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Altonia. One of the most prominent was Altonia of Saxony (1089-1147), a noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th century. She was a influential figure at the court of Emperor Lothair III and later served as a regent for her son, Henry the Lion.
Another historical figure was Altonia of Trier (1210-1284), a Benedictine abbess and influential religious leader in the Rhineland region of Germany. She was known for her piety and her efforts to reform monastic life in her abbey.
In the 14th century, Altonia of Burgundy (1315-1378) was a prominent courtier and advisor to the Dukes of Burgundy. She was renowned for her diplomatic skills and played a crucial role in mediating disputes between the duchy and neighboring territories.
During the Renaissance period, Altonia Vespucci (1451-1512) was a notable figure in Florence, Italy. She was the daughter of the famous explorer Amerigo Vespucci and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for humanist scholars.
In the 16th century, Altonia of Cleves (1512-1580) was a German noblewoman and the wife of Elector John Frederick I of Saxony. She was an influential figure in the Protestant Reformation and played a role in promoting the teachings of Martin Luther in her court.
While the name Altonia has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has been adapted and used in various cultures throughout history, reflecting the diverse and rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Altonia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Altonia 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
Altonia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Altonia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Altonia 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Altonia a common name?
We classify Altonia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Altonia most popular?
The single biggest year for Altonia was 1972, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Altonia is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Altonia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 105 people with the name Altonia, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,717 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 Altonia 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 Altonia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Altonia on both sides of the split. Of the 105 people counted with this name, 37 were male (35.2%) and 68 were female (64.8%). 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 Altonia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Altonia is Black at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Altonia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Altonia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (96 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 Altonia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Altonia a male name?
Yes, 58.3% of people registered as Altonia 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 Altonia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Altonia 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 Altonia 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 Altonia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.