Alvey
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "elf warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 89 living Americans carry the first name Alvey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alvey today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alvey births was 2021 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alvey. 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 Alvey with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Alvey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
89
~ 1 in 3,851,172 Americans
Peak year
2021
23 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,404
Tracked since 1909
Census
Alvey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Alvey, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alvey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alvey is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.2%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Alvey 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 Alvey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.9% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino17.2% · 25
- Black or African American6.2% · 9
- Two or more races4.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Alvey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alvey from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 46 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alvey 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 Alvey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alveys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alvey
The name Alvey has its roots in the Old English language and dates back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is believed to have originated from the Old English name Aelfweard, which was a compound name formed by combining the elements "aelf" meaning "elf" and "weard" meaning "guard" or "protector." The name Aelfweard was likely a reference to someone who was considered a guardian or protector of elves or supernatural beings.
In its earliest recorded uses, the name was spelled in various ways, including Aelfweard, Alfuuard, and Aluuard. As the Old English language evolved into Middle English, the name underwent further changes in spelling and pronunciation, eventually leading to the modern form Alvey.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Alvey was Alvey de Ryhill, who lived in Yorkshire, England, in the 13th century. Records from this time period mention him in connection with land holdings and legal disputes.
Another notable figure in history with the name Alvey was Sir Alvey de Vere, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. He was known for his bravery and military prowess on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, an Alvey Copinger is recorded as being a prominent figure in the city of Norwich, England, where he served as a mayor and was involved in civic affairs.
During the 17th century, an Alvey Hatley was a prominent landowner and member of the gentry in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Records from this time period indicate that he was involved in local politics and the administration of his estates.
Moving into the 18th century, an Alvey Fawkes is recorded as being a successful merchant and trader based in the city of Bristol, England. He was known for his business acumen and involvement in the thriving maritime trade of the time.
While the name Alvey has its origins in the Old English language and has been in use for centuries, it has never been an extremely common or widespread name. However, it has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, particularly in certain regions of England, where it has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, landowners, and successful merchants.
People
Alvey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alvey 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
Alvey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alvey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 89 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alvey 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 3,851,172 US residents.
Is Alvey a common name?
We classify Alvey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alvey most popular?
The single biggest year for Alvey was 2021, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alvey is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alvey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Alvey, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Alvey 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 Alvey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alvey leans strongly male. 141 people counted with this name were male (96.6%), compared with 5 female bearers (3.4%). 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 Alvey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alvey is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.2%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Alvey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alvey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.9% (97 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 Alvey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alvey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alvey 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 Alvey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alvey 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 Alvey 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 Alvey?
See how many Americans are named Alvey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.