girl's name
Alissa
uh-LISS-uh
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 43,898
Northern Ireland
#466
2009 births
Alissa means noble, and the flower it resembles was named for rabies — alyssum joins the Greek negative to lyssa, madness, because the plant was believed to cure the bite of a mad dog.
- Alissa is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1998, when 1,231 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 33,488 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1948.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Alissa over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 14 |
| 1950s | 203 |
| 1960s | 1,245 |
| 1970s | 4,633 |
| 1980s | 8,222 |
| 1990s | 10,803 |
| 2000s | 9,444 |
| 2010s | 3,268 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 790 |
What Alissa means
Alissa means noble, carried from Alice and the Germanic adal. The resemblance to the alyssum flower is coincidental, and that word has an entirely separate origin.
Where Alissa comes from
Alissa respells Alyssa, generally an elaboration of Alice, from the Germanic Adalheidis — adal, noble, joined to heid, a kind or sort. The flower alyssum is unrelated: the Greek a-, not, joined to lyssa, madness or rabies, because the plant was thought to cure the bite of a rabid dog. Adelaide and Addie, elsewhere on this site, carry the same adal, and the two lines only look alike in English.
Alissa in use
Alissa peaked in the United States in 1998, when 1,231 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1430th in England and Wales on 22 births, 1668th in France on 20 and 1946th in the United States on 99, across 43,898 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1948.
How popular is Alissa?
In 2025, Alissa was given to 99 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Alissa is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Alissa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alissa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alissa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Alissa in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Alissa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alissa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alissa
What does the name Alissa mean?
Noble — the Germanic adal, through Alice.
Is it named after the flower?
No. Alyssum comes from the Greek for not-madness, as a supposed rabies cure.
Is Adelaide related?
Yes — the same adal element.
How popular is Alissa?
1946th in the United States, down from a 1998 peak of 1,231 births.
Is Alissa a girl's or a boy's name?
Alissa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alissa?
Alissa has 3 syllables.
Is Alissa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alissa currently ranks #1,430 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.