girl's name
Alyssa
a-LISS-uh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 355,675
the United States
#453
2025 births
Alyssa is a girl's name from the flower alyssum, whose Greek name means without madness — the plant was believed to cure rabies. It ranks 173rd in Scotland, down from an American peak of 14,050 births in 1999.
- Alyssa is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1999, when 14,050 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,876 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1950.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Alyssa over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 98 |
| 1960s | 1,503 |
| 1970s | 6,085 |
| 1980s | 33,052 |
| 1990s | 115,390 |
| 2000s | 114,673 |
| 2010s | 37,960 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,277 |
What Alyssa means
Alyssa means without madness or without rage. The sense comes from the plant it names, which was thought to be a remedy for the madness caused by a dog bite.
Where Alyssa comes from
Alyssa is taken from alyssum, a flowering plant whose Greek name is built from a-, without, and lyssa, rage or madness — the specific madness of rabies. Ancient and medieval herbals held that the plant cured a rabid bite, and the name records that belief rather than any quality of the flower itself. Alyssa is also read as a variant of Alicia and Alice, which descend from the Germanic Adalheidis, noble sort, and its American rise in the 1980s ran alongside those names rather than alongside other botanicals. Both accounts are current; the flower gives it the more specific meaning and the older one.
Alyssa in use
Alyssa ranks 173rd in Scotland on 24 births, 325th in England and Wales, 331st in Ireland, 368th in Northern Ireland, 453rd in the United States on 680 and 517th in France — all seven markets. It peaked in the United States in 1999, when 14,050 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. Across 334,853 lifetime births it is the highest-volume name entering the current Scottish top 200.
How popular is Alyssa?
In 2025, Alyssa was given to 680 babies in the United States, ranking #453 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Alyssa 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 Alyssa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Alyssa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Alyssa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Alyssa
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Alyssa 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 Alyssa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Alyssa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Alyssa
What does the name Alyssa mean?
Without madness, from the Greek name of the alyssum flower — the plant was believed to cure rabies.
Is Alyssa a flower name?
Yes, from alyssum, though it is also read as a variant of Alicia.
Is Alyssa the same as Alicia?
They are treated as related, but the flower gives Alyssa its own and older derivation.
How popular is Alyssa?
173rd in Scotland and 453rd in the United States, down from a 1999 peak of 14,050 American births.
Is Alyssa a girl's or a boy's name?
Alyssa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Alyssa?
Alyssa has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Alyssa?
Alyssa is usually shortened to Aly and Lyssa.
Is Alyssa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Alyssa currently ranks #173 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.