Alton
English surname and place name, Old English for “town at the river’s source.”
1937peak year
No. 78best rank (1904)
47,832babies since 1880
—outside top 1000 in 2025
Popularity, 1880–2025
Alton appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 1 different years between 1904 and 1904. Its biggest year was 1937, when 836 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 173 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1904, at No. 78. All told, 47,832 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Explore Alton interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 191 | No. 309 |
| 1890s | 276 | No. 306 |
| 1900s | 1,102 | No. 78 |
| 1910s | 4,417 | No. 183 |
| 1920s | 7,243 | No. 176 |
| 1930s | 7,215 | No. 173 |
| 1940s | 6,373 | No. 194 |
| 1950s | 5,989 | No. 259 |
| 1960s | 4,376 | No. 336 |
| 1970s | 2,855 | No. 424 |
| 1980s | 2,211 | No. 526 |
| 1990s | 1,684 | No. 682 |
| 2000s | 1,466 | No. 998 |
| 2010s | 1,427 | No. 1111 |
| 2020s | 632 | No. 1349 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.