NameRealm
Alpha

Alpha: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“first”
Origin
Greek
Say it
AL-fuh · 2 syllables
Used for
Both (72% girls, 28% boys since 1880)

From Greek alpha, the first letter of the alphabet. It has also been used in Christian contexts through the phrase 'Alpha and Omega'.

Greek namesNames meaning faithBiblical namesClassic names

How popular is Alpha?

202424.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Alpha in 202479

2024 rank#2,037 boys

Peak year1899

Total US babies since 18809,967

Alpha is rising: use over the last five years is 1.8× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Alpha

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Angelmessenger · Greek
  • Phoenixdark red · Greek
  • Onyxclaw; black gemstone · Greek
  • Oceanocean, great sea · Greek
  • Parisuncertain meaning · Greek
  • Cleoglory · Greek
  • IndigoIndian dye, indigo blue · Greek
  • Psalmsacred song · Greek

Alpha questions

What does the name Alpha mean?

Alpha means "first". It comes from Greek. From Greek alpha, the first letter of the alphabet. It has also been used in Christian contexts through the phrase 'Alpha and Omega'.

Is Alpha a boy or girl name?

Alpha is used for both: about 72% of US babies named Alpha since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Alpha?

79 US babies were named Alpha in 2024. Its peak year was 1899.

How do you pronounce Alpha?

Alpha is usually pronounced AL-fuh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.