Alson vs Alston

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Alson Alston

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 116 years in which either name was published, Alston for 100 years and Alson for 16 years. The lead changed hands 21 times.

• 1911–1913 Alson ahead
• 1920–1933 Alston ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1934–1936 Alson ahead
• 1937–2025 Alston ahead, apart from 5 short spells

12 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Alsons alive today are over 31; half the Alstons are over 21. That is 10 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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