Alverta
An English feminine name derived from the Germanic elements "alf" and "vert", meaning "elf" and "truth".
Name Census estimates that about 287 living Americans carry the first name Alverta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alverta today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alverta births was 1918 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alverta. 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 Alverta is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alvertas were born before 1956.
People living today
287
~ 1 in 1,194,266 Americans
Peak year
1918
103 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1977 SSA rank
#9,691
Tracked since 1880
Census
Alverta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 487 people with the first name Alverta, which placed it at #20,996 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
#20,996
National first-name rank
People counted
487
487 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alverta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alverta is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Alverta 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 Alverta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.2% · 230
- Black or African American42.9% · 209
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 8
- Two or more races1.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Alverta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alverta from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 669 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
Alverta 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 Alverta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alvertas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia recorded the most babies named Alverta, while New York, Michigan, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 111 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alverta
The name Alverta is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the Old English words "aelf," meaning "elf," and "weard," meaning "guard" or "protector." It is believed to have emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
While the name Alverta does not have a direct mention in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its components can be traced back to Germanic and Norse mythology, where elves were believed to be supernatural beings that could influence the lives of humans. The combination of "aelf" and "weard" suggests that the name may have been given to girls who were thought to be protected by elven guardians.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Alverta can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. An entry in the book mentions an Alverta de Clifton, suggesting that the name was in use during the Norman period in England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alverta. One of the earliest recorded was Alverta Kelsall (1840-1921), a British educator and suffragist who campaigned for women's rights and advocated for higher education for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another notable Alverta was Alverta Martin (1890-1970), an American businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded the Martin Foundation, which supported various educational and cultural institutions in her home state of Idaho.
In the field of literature, Alverta Guice (1912-1988) was an American writer and educator who published several books of poetry and short stories, often exploring themes of race, identity, and the African American experience.
Alverta Bayne Seckar (1925-2015) was an American politician who served as the first female lieutenant governor of South Dakota from 1971 to 1975, paving the way for greater representation of women in state politics.
Lastly, Alverta Fairbanks (1916-2001) was a renowned American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films throughout her career, including the classic musical "Oklahoma!" in 1943.
While the name Alverta may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and unique blend of Old English roots make it a distinctive and intriguing choice for a given name.
People
Alverta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alverta 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
Alverta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alverta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 287 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alverta 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 1,194,266 US residents.
Is Alverta a common name?
We classify Alverta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alverta most popular?
The single biggest year for Alverta was 1918, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alverta is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alverta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 487 people with the name Alverta, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,996 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 Alverta 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 Alverta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alverta appears almost entirely female. Of the 488 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Alverta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alverta is White at 47.2%. The next largest groups are Black (42.9%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Alverta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alverta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.2% (230 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 Alverta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alverta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alverta 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 Alverta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alverta 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 Alverta 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 Americans are named Alverta?
Want to know how many Americans are named Alverta? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.