Girl · English (modern)
Alyssa
Say it: uh-LISS-uh
Meaning
A modern form of Alicia or Alice, also associated with the flower alyssum (from Greek, 'against madness'); there is no single agreed origin.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Rose quickly in the US from the 1980s into the top 20 in the 1990s and 2000s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1990s
In the United States
- 310,118 babies given this name since 1950
- At its height in 1999, about 1 in 126 girls
- 1,460 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Alissa, Alysa, Elissa
Famous bearers
- Alyssa Milano, American actress
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.