2000
#5,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.07
Rare Last name
Alt
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the old German word "alt," meaning "old" or "elder."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,279 Americans carry the last name Alt. That puts it at #6,032 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,587 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alt surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,587
Census rank
#6,032
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,476 bearers of the surname Alt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6032nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alt
The surname Alt originated in Germany and Switzerland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "alt," meaning "old" or "ancient." This name was likely given as a descriptive byname to someone who was elderly or had an aged appearance.
In Germany, the name Alt can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the town of Zofingen, Switzerland, where a Hainrich Alt was mentioned in a document from 1297. The name also appeared in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony, during the 14th and 15th centuries.
The Alt surname is not found in the Domesday Book, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name likely did not have a presence in England during the Norman period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Alt was Johannes Alt, a German Renaissance painter who lived from around 1450 to 1510. He was known for his altarpieces and religious works, many of which can still be found in churches throughout southern Germany.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Rudolf Alt, an Austrian historian and academic who lived from 1812 to 1905. He was a professor at the University of Vienna and wrote extensively on the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 20th century, the name Alt was associated with the German-American political scientist and scholar Franz Alt, who was born in 1910 and passed away in 1998. He was a prominent figure in the field of international relations and served as the director of the Institute for International Affairs at the University of Missouri.
Theodor Alt, a German archaeologist and Orientalist who lived from 1846 to 1937, made significant contributions to the study of ancient Near Eastern civilizations. He conducted excavations in Syria and Palestine and helped to decipher the Amarna letters, which were diplomatic correspondences from the 14th century BCE.
Lastly, the name Alt has been carried by several notable athletes, including Hermann Alt, a German gymnast who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and Gert Alt, a German ice hockey player who represented West Germany in the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alt
Among Census respondents with the surname Alt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Alt bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 5,007
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 180
- Two or more races2.8% · 153
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 82
- Black or African American0.8% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alt
Alt appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,906
+319 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 157 places
2020
#6,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,476
-430 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,693 | 5,587 | 2.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,850 | 5,906 | 2.00 | +319 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 157 places |
| 2020 | #6,032 | 5,476 | 1.83 | -430 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 182 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alt surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,850 | #6,032 | -3.1% |
| Count | 5,906 | 5,476 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.00 | 1.83 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alt bearers went from 5,906 to 5,476 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 182 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,850 to #6,032.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Alt
FAQ
Alt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alt?
Name Census estimates that about 6,279 living Americans carry the surname Alt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,587 residents.
How common is Alt?
Alt ranks #6,032 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,476 people with the surname Alt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,279), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Alt.
Has Alt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alt went from 5,906 recorded bearers to 5,476. That is a decrease of 430 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,850 to #6,032.
What does the Census say about the background of Alt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (5,007 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alt (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alt mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the old German word "alt," meaning "old" or "elder." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alt (1.83 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Alt?
You can see how many people have the surname Alt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.