Alvia
A feminine name of unknown origin and meaning, possibly a variant of Alvina.
Name Census estimates that about 217 living Americans carry the first name Alvia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Alvia today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alvia births was 1924 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alvia. 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 Alvia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Alvia is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Alvias were born before 1967.
People living today
217
~ 1 in 1,579,513 Americans
Peak year
1924
31 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1967 SSA rank
#3,986
Tracked since 1880
Census
Alvia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 487 people with the first name Alvia, 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
Black or African American
33.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alvia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alvia is Black at 33.7%. The next largest groups are White (32.0%) and Hispanic (22.2%). 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 Alvia 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 Alvia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American33.7% · 164
- White32.0% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino22.2% · 108
- Two or more races5.5% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Alvia
Alvia is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 834 total registrations, 441 (52.9%) were male and 393 (47.1%) were female.
Alvia as a male name
- Ranked #3,986 in 1967
- 5 male births in 1967
- Peak: 1924 (18 births)
Alvia as a female name
- Ranked #15,433 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1920 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Alvia on both sides of the split. Of the 490 people counted with this name, 122 were male (24.9%) and 368 were female (75.1%).
Popularity
Alvia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alvia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 199 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
Alvia 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 Alvia 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 Alvia
The given name Alvia has its origins in ancient Germanic languages. It is derived from the Old Germanic root word "alf," which means "elf" or "supernatural being." This root word is also found in other Germanic names such as Alfred and Alvina.
In the early medieval period, the name Alvia was particularly popular among the Germanic tribes of central and northern Europe. It was often given to children in the hope that they would be blessed with the mystical qualities associated with elves and fairies in Germanic folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alvia can be found in the Codex Sangallensis, a 9th-century manuscript from the Swiss monastery of St. Gallen. The manuscript contains a list of names, including Alvia, which was likely used by the monks for christening purposes.
In the 12th century, a noblewoman named Alvia von Wildenberg was mentioned in the records of the Benedictine abbey of Fulda in present-day Germany. She is believed to have been a patron of the abbey and played a significant role in its affairs during that time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Alvia gained some popularity among the aristocratic families of Italy. One notable figure was Alvia Piccolomini, a 16th-century Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who was known for her support of the painter Raphael and other prominent artists of the time.
In the 17th century, Alvia Maria von Schönau, a German nun and mystic, gained recognition for her visions and spiritual writings. She is considered a significant figure in the history of Christian mysticism and her writings were widely read throughout Europe.
Another notable figure with the name Alvia was Alvia Thornton, an English author and poet who lived in the 18th century. She was known for her romantic poetry and her works were popular among the literary circles of her time.
While the name Alvia has ancient roots, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history. However, its connection to Germanic folklore and its association with mystical qualities have given it a unique charm and appeal that has endured over the centuries.
People
Alvia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alvia 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
Alvia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alvia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 217 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alvia 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 1,579,513 US residents.
Is Alvia a common name?
We classify Alvia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 834 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alvia most popular?
The single biggest year for Alvia was 1924, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alvia is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alvia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 487 people with the name Alvia, 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 Alvia 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 Alvia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Alvia on both sides of the split. Of the 490 people counted with this name, 122 were male (24.9%) and 368 were female (75.1%). 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 Alvia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alvia is Black at 33.7%. The next largest groups are White (32.0%) and Hispanic (22.2%). 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 Alvia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Alvia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.7% (164 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 Alvia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alvia a male name?
Yes, 52.9% of people registered as Alvia 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 Alvia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alvia 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 Alvia 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 Alvia as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Alvia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.