Given name
Alphaeus
“traverse”·“exchange”
Alphaeus is a given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Latin.
Original GreekΑλφαιος
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Alphaeus means “traverse” or “exchange.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Alphaeus is a biblical name from Greek.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb halap (חלף), “to traverse, exchange or renew.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2022. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Alphaeus appears in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15 and 5 other passages.
- Matthew 10:3
- Mark 3:18
- Luke 6:15
- Acts 1:13
- John 19:25
- Mark 16:1
- Mark 2:14
- Matthew 9:9
From biblical name research
Alphaeus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13
- 13 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #8,950 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,950 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Alphaeus’s family of names
In English usage, Alphaeus has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Alfeusz.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Alphaeus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“increaser” · “may he add”
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Abiud
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Jonam
“God is gracious”
>99% boys