Find out how popular the last name Alger is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Alger.

Alger, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Alger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alger in America

Alger is the 5516th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alger surname appeared 6,306 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Alger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alger to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Alger

The surname Alger is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "ald" meaning "old" and "gara" meaning "triangular piece of land." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived on or near an old triangular-shaped piece of land or field.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Alger can be found in various medieval records and manuscripts. In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname Alger or similar variations like Algere and Algare.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir William Alger, a knight who fought alongside King Richard I in the Third Crusade during the late 12th century. Another was John Alger, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London who lived in the 14th century.

The surname Alger also has connections to various place names in England, such as Algar's Farm in Wiltshire and Alger's Hill in Dorset. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname Alger who lived or owned land in those areas.

In the 16th century, the name Alger was associated with the Puritan movement in England. One notable figure was Thomas Alger, a Puritan minister who was born in 1616 and later emigrated to New England in the 1630s, settling in Massachusetts.

Another significant bearer of the name was Horatio Alger Jr. (1832-1899), an American novelist and writer famous for his popular juvenile fiction stories depicting young boys overcoming adversity and achieving success through hard work and perseverance.

Other notable individuals with the surname Alger include Russell Alger (1836-1907), an American politician and businessman who served as the 20th United States Secretary of War under President William McKinley, and Philip Alger (1892-1967), an American diplomat and author who served as the United States Ambassador to Belgium and Pakistan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alger

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Alger.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Alger was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Alger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Alger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Alger, please contact us.

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