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Alger Family History

Alger Surname Meaning

English: from the Middle English personal name Alger. Pronounced with a soft g it is from Old French Alg(i)er Aug(i)er (ancient Germanic Adalgari composed of the elements adal ‘noble’ + gāri ‘spear’); see Auger.

Pronounced with a hard g it is a variant of Algar. Scottish and English: in Scotland Alger may be a variant of Algeo.

German: from a shortened form of the ancient Germanic personal name Adalgar (see 1 above).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Alger family from?

You can see how Alger families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Alger family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Alger families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 50 Alger families living in Massachusetts. This was about 27% of all the recorded Alger's in USA. Massachusetts had the highest population of Alger families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Alger surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Alger ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Clerk were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Alger. 19% of Alger men worked as a Laborer and 11% of Alger women worked as a Clerk. Some less common occupations for Americans named Alger were Carpenter and Teacher.

View Census Data for Alger | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    19%
  • Farmer
    15%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Carpenter
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Clerk
    11%
  • Housekeeper
    10%
  • Housewife
    9%
  • Teacher
    8%

What Alger family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 48,000 census records available for the last name Alger. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Alger census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Alger

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Alger. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Alger immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 8,000 military records available for the last name Alger. For the veterans among your Alger ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Alger military records

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