Given name & surname
Alto
“to be elevated”·“old or wise one; elder”
Alto is a variant of Alta. One Latin interpretation is “to be elevated.” In German use, Alto is a variant of Aldo. One German interpretation is “old or wise one; elder.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Alto is a variant of Alta. One Latin interpretation is “to be elevated.” In German use, Alto is a variant of Aldo. One German interpretation is “old or wise one; elder.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Alto is a variant of Alta. An origin associated with Alta is Latin. In German use, Alto is a variant of Aldo. A possible origin is Germanic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Alto through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 592
- 561 boys · 31 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 21 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1991. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 20 in 1919. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 241 as a first name in 2020; 777 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Alto’s family of names
In German usage, Alto has a related form in Aldo. In German usage, Alto has a related form in Aldo. Alto has a related form in Alta.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Alto
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Alto, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Ilo
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>99% boys
Vasco
“resembling a crow”
>99% boys
Armand
“of the army; a soldier”
>99% boys
Anton
“a flourishing man; from an ancient Roman family”
>99% boys