Alverda
Feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the watchful one".
Name Census estimates that about 57 living Americans carry the first name Alverda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alverda today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alverda births was 1922 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alverda. 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 Alverda is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alverdas were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Alverda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
57
~ 1 in 6,013,234 Americans
Peak year
1922
37 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1950 SSA rank
#5,316
Tracked since 1883
Census
Alverda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 136 people with the first name Alverda, which placed it at #47,733 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
#47,733
National first-name rank
People counted
136
136 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alverda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alverda is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.4%). 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 Alverda 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 Alverda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 108
- Black or African American12.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.4% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Popularity
Alverda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alverda from the 1880s through to the 1950s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 273 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alverda 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 Alverda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alverdas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alverda
The name Alverda is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, but it is believed to have roots in either Germanic or Scandinavian languages. The earliest known use of the name can be traced back to the late 19th century in parts of Northern Europe and the British Isles.
One theory suggests that Alverda is derived from the Old Norse word "alvitr," which means "all-knowing" or "very wise." This could indicate that the name was originally bestowed upon individuals who were considered exceptionally knowledgeable or intellectually gifted. Another possibility is that Alverda is a variation of the German name "Alwrada," which combines the elements "alu" (meaning "all") and "rad" (meaning "counsel" or "advice").
While the name's exact origins remain shrouded in mystery, some historical records mention individuals bearing the name Alverda. One notable example is Alverda Payne (1877-1964), an American educator and suffragist from New York. She was actively involved in the women's suffrage movement and served as the president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association from 1915 to 1917.
Another figure of historical significance was Alverda Buhrman (1889-1972), a Norwegian-American architect who made significant contributions to the field of residential architecture in the early 20th century. Her designs were widely acclaimed for their innovative use of space and integration of indoor and outdoor living areas.
In the literary realm, Alverda Fulton (1897-1980) was an American author and playwright known for her works exploring themes of social justice and women's rights. Her play "The Promised Land" was a notable success on Broadway in the 1920s and helped raise awareness about the experiences of immigrant communities in the United States.
Moving to the world of sports, Alverda Woodward (1914-2001) was a Canadian athlete who excelled in several disciplines, including track and field, basketball, and softball. She represented Canada at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and won a silver medal in the high jump event.
Lastly, Alverda Vaillancourt (1936-2018) was a renowned Canadian sculptor and artist known for her intricate and whimsical works in bronze and other materials. Her sculptures, often depicting scenes from everyday life, adorned public spaces and private collections around the world, earning her international acclaim.
While these are just a few examples, the name Alverda has been borne by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on society and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavors.
People
Alverda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alverda 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
Alverda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alverda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 57 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alverda 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 6,013,234 US residents.
Is Alverda a common name?
We classify Alverda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 891 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alverda most popular?
The single biggest year for Alverda was 1922, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alverda is about 88 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alverda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 136 people with the name Alverda, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,733 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 Alverda 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 Alverda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alverda leans strongly female. 138 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Alverda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alverda is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (12.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (7.4%). 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 Alverda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alverda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (108 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 Alverda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alverda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alverda 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.
Is Alverda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alverda 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 Alverda 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 have Alverda as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Alverda, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.