Alta
From the Latin altus, high or lofty, the source of Spanish and Italian alta; the same word sits behind place names across the American West.
Alta in 2025
Alta was given to 33 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 7,429th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 100,465 babies born.
The history of Alta
Alta reached its highest point in 1918, when 820 babies were given the name, ranking 389th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 206th, in 1894.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 29,048 babies have been named Alta. Half of them were born before 1921, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Alta by decade
| Decade | Babies named Alta | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,528 | 219 |
| 1890s | 2,815 | 206 |
| 1900s | 3,096 | 232 |
| 1910s | 6,053 | 289 |
| 1920s | 6,228 | 427 |
| 1930s | 3,703 | 542 |
| 1940s | 2,255 | 723 |
| 1950s | 1,280 | 1,132 |
| 1960s | 589 | 1,914 |
| 1970s | 420 | 2,735 |
| 1980s | 289 | 3,664 |
| 1990s | 188 | 6,841 |
| 2000s | 186 | 7,957 |
| 2010s | 244 | 7,319 |
| 2020s | 174 | 7,084 |
Where Alta is heading
Alta has risen 38% over the past decade, from 24 babies in 2015 to 33 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1918 peak — Alta is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Alta
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Alta.