Alec
Scottish short form of Alexander, from the Greek Alexandros, which joins a verb meaning "to defend" with aner, "man."
Alec in 2025
Alec was given to 234 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 1,998th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 14,168 babies born.
The history of Alec
Alec reached its highest point in 1995, when 3,457 babies were given the name, ranking 207th that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 55,489 babies have been named Alec. Half of them were born before 1998, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Alec by decade
| Decade | Babies named Alec | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 66 | 1,068 |
| 1890s | 61 | 1,387 |
| 1900s | 104 | 1,532 |
| 1910s | 419 | 1,546 |
| 1920s | 513 | 1,660 |
| 1930s | 299 | 2,095 |
| 1940s | 443 | 1,831 |
| 1950s | 653 | 1,794 |
| 1960s | 974 | 1,581 |
| 1970s | 901 | 1,844 |
| 1980s | 3,058 | 773 |
| 1990s | 26,122 | 207 |
| 2000s | 13,781 | 293 |
| 2010s | 6,091 | 876 |
| 2020s | 2,004 | 1,207 |
Where Alec is heading
Alec has fallen 65% over the past decade, from 665 babies in 2015 to 234 in 2025.
Names like Alec
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Alec.