Alyssa

What Alyssa means

Means “a plant of the genus Alyssum”

Possible origins: From alyss(um) (“a plant of the genus Alyssum”) +‎ -a.

Source: Wiktionary, “Alyssa” (revision 89785731), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Alyssa?

US: Falling: down from #93 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #190 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1999, when 14,036 girls got the name (#11 that year). First in the US records in 1950.

How common

• About 1 in 2,364 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,904 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,491 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NM (1.28 per 1,000 girls), CA (0.85 per 1,000 girls), MA (0.71 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Alyssa is #453 in the US and #325 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Alyssa were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Alisa125 US · 48 E&W
• Elissa108 US · 21 E&W
• Alissa99 US · 22 E&W
• Alessa105 US · 4 E&W
• Alyza77 US · 24 E&W
• Alessi64 US
• Elyssa26 US · 10 E&W
• Elysa13 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Alyssa

Girls

• Karla#799Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1964, with 2,060 babies; 340 in 2025
• Abby#731Diminutive of Abigail, meaning “my Father's joy”^*
• Allison#103Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*
• Alicia#460Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 7,820 babies; 672 in 2025
• Alison#476“of noble kind”^*
• Linda#902“tender, soft”^*

For a brother

• Garrett#564Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #269 in 2015, #564 in 2025
• Drew#553Diminutive of Andrew, meaning “manly”^*
• Carlos#150Spanish and Portuguese form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*
• William#9“will + helmet”^*
• Skyler#783Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #360 in 2015, #783 in 2025
• Lance#862Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1970, with 4,160 babies; 279 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Alyssa’s. Rank is US 2025.