Fun Facts About the Name Alger
- 832 babies named Alger: U.S. records list 832 babies given the name Alger from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Alger Mean?
Alger is an English name meaning "elf spear." It comes from the Middle English personal name Alger, also written Algar or Elgar, which descends from the Old English name Ælfgar, formed from ælf ("elf") and gār ("spear"). The same two elements make up the Old Norse name Álfgeirr, and Norse settlement in northern and eastern England may have reinforced the Middle English form. Some reference works also link the surname to other Old English compounds ending in gār, such as Ealdgar ("old spear"), so the precise Old English source is not always certain, though "elf spear" is the usual explanation.
Alger Name History & Origins
The Old English name Ælfgar was borne by several recorded figures, among them Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia in the eleventh century, a son of Leofric and Godiva. After the Norman Conquest the name survived in Middle English as Alger and Algar and was handed down as a hereditary surname in England, especially in East Anglia. The given name Alger is chiefly a transferred use of that surname.
As a first name Alger has stayed uncommon. In the United States it is most familiar through the surname of the writer Horatio Alger, whose novels gave rise to the phrase "a Horatio Alger story"; that association belongs to the surname, not to the given name. Alger is unrelated to Algernon, a Norman nickname of different origin, despite the similar sound.
How Popular is the Name Alger?
Alger recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1919. Its best rank was #664 in 1898.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | #12,621 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1978 | #5,802 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #4,600 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #3,565 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #5,003 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #3,374 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #3,954 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,608 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #2,862 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #3,648 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #3,102 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #3,672 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,626 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #3,281 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #2,825 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #3,541 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #1,979 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1954 | #2,748 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #2,909 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #2,075 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1951 | #2,498 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #2,584 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #2,457 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #2,610 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1947 | #2,358 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1946 | #2,146 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1945 | #1,853 | 14 | 0.0010% |
| 1944 | #2,866 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #2,564 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1942 | #2,145 | 12 | 0.0009% |
| 1941 | #1,905 | 14 | 0.0011% |
| 1940 | #2,671 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #1,879 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1938 | #2,328 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1937 | #2,200 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1936 | #2,189 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1935 | #1,585 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1934 | #2,395 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1933 | #2,094 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1932 | #1,586 | 20 | 0.0019% |
| 1931 | #2,209 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1930 | #1,890 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1929 | #2,455 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1928 | #1,762 | 19 | 0.0017% |
| 1927 | #1,519 | 25 | 0.0022% |
| 1926 | #1,353 | 29 | 0.0026% |
| 1925 | #1,808 | 19 | 0.0017% |
| 1924 | #1,628 | 23 | 0.0020% |
| 1923 | #1,754 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1922 | #1,647 | 22 | 0.0020% |
| 1921 | #1,390 | 29 | 0.0026% |
| 1920 | #1,887 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1919 | #1,297 | 30 | 0.0031% |
| 1918 | #1,649 | 21 | 0.0021% |
| 1917 | #1,901 | 16 | 0.0017% |
| 1916 | #1,241 | 29 | 0.0033% |
| 1915 | #1,784 | 16 | 0.0019% |
| 1914 | #1,547 | 16 | 0.0024% |
| 1913 | #1,256 | 17 | 0.0033% |
| 1912 | #2,275 | 6 | 0.0014% |
| 1910 | #1,426 | 6 | 0.0031% |
| 1906 | #1,254 | 5 | 0.0038% |
| 1901 | #1,062 | 5 | 0.0047% |
| 1898 | #664 | 11 | 0.0090% |
| 1891 | #843 | 6 | 0.0059% |
| 1889 | #879 | 6 | 0.0054% |
| 1888 | #816 | 7 | 0.0058% |
| 1886 | #964 | 5 | 0.0045% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Alger Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Alger's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Alger's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.