Explore the Family Name Alten

The meaning of Alten

1. German: habitational name from Ahlten near Hanover. 2. Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Alte, possibly a shortened form of Allert. 3. Dutch (Van Alten): habitational name from Aalten, a town in the province of Gelderland.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Alten in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Alten has seen a slight decrease from the year 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 55,237th most common surname and this rank fell to 59,470 by 2010, indicating a decrease of around 7.66%. The count of individuals with this surname also dropped slightly over this period, from 348 to 340, marking a modest reduction of 2.3%. Consequently, the proportion of the surname Alten per 100k people also decreased by 7.69% during the same time frame.

20002010Change
Rank#55,237#59,470-7.66%
Count348340-2.3%
Proportion per 100k0.130.12-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Alten

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that there have been some shifts in the distribution of the Alten surname among different ethnic groups between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with the surname identified as White, although this percentage saw a decline from 95.98% to 90.88%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic representation among those with the Alten surname experienced a significant increase of 90.05%, rising from 2.01% to 3.82%. Interestingly, the data shows no individuals with this surname identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year. However, there were small percentages (2.06%) of persons identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Two or more races in 2010, for which data was not available or was suppressed in the year 2000.

20002010Change
White95.98%90.88%-5.31%
Hispanic2.01%3.82%90.05%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%2.06%0%
Two or More Races0%2.06%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%