Alcides
Masculine · “Greek Alkeides”
Hercules was not born Hercules. His name was Alcides, after his grandfather Alcaeus, and he was renamed for the goddess who spent his whole life trying to destroy him: Heracles means the glory of Hera.
How old is the name Alcides?
Alcides first appears in US birth records in 1954 — 71 years ago. The typical Alcides alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 500 people named Alcides are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alcides most popular?
Alcides peaked in 1966, reaching #2784 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 7,911 places below that high. See the whole 1966 chart.
Where it comes from
From Alkeides to Alcides
The story of Alcides
Hera pursues Heracles from birth: she delays his delivery, sends snakes to his cradle, drives him mad, and imposes the labors through her agent Eurystheus. Naming him for her is therefore either propitiation, an attempt to disarm a hostile goddess by flattery, or a sign that the name is older than the story attached to it and originally meant something else. Ancient writers noticed the problem and explained it as an oracle's instruction. His original name, Alcides, is a straightforward patronymic from his grandfather Alcaeus, built on the word for strength, and it stayed in use as a poetic alternative throughout Greek and Latin literature. Spanish and Portuguese kept it as an ordinary given name.
Meaning
Greek Alkeides, descendant of Alkaios
Alcides is the patronymic of Alkaios, from alke, strength, and was the birth name of the hero later called Heracles. Heracles is generally read as the glory of Hera, which is the standard explanation and an odd one given the myth. The American peak is 1966.
How the name formed
- Alkeides
- Alcides
Related forms: Alcides · Alcides · Alkeides
Pronouncing Alcides
al-SEE-des
Three syllables, stress on the second. The Greek has the stress on the second syllable too, with a k sound for the c.
Nicknames for Alcides
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1954
- Most boys named
- 198817 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2784reached in 1966
- Change vs 2024
- −25.0%6 in 2025, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alcides in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alcides in Spanish — same name
- Alcides in Portuguese — same name
- Alkeides in Greek — same name
Alcidess among us
people named Alcides are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Alcides
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ollin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alcides's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ollin climbed just as high around 1930, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ollin's path sketches the road Alcides is walking now.
Alcides sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Alcides beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alcides in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Al works as a short form in any setting.
- The mythological connection is precise and documented.
- It is an ordinary name in Spanish and Portuguese.
- It is unfamiliar to most American readers.
- The Greek and Spanish pronunciations differ.
- The 1966 peak dates its American use.
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What they receive
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Alcides
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alcidess are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Alcides are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alcides in 2025?
- Alcides ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alcides?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Alcides — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alcides with classmates?
- Alcides will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alcides
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alcides? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alcides and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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