Alissa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "truth" or "honest".
Name Census estimates that about 36,822 living Americans carry the first name Alissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alissa today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alissa births was 1998 (1,231 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alissa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Alissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
37K
~ 1 in 9,308 Americans
Peak year
1998
1,231 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1989 SSA rank
#1,553
Tracked since 1948
Census
Alissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 34,758 people with the first name Alissa, which placed it at #1,148 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,148
National first-name rank
People counted
35K
34,758 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
11.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alissa is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.9%) and Black (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Alissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Alissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.5% · 24,843
- Hispanic or Latino14.9% · 5,171
- Black or African American5.6% · 1,952
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,558
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 957
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 277
Gender
Gender distribution for Alissa
Out of the 38,521 babies given the name Alissa since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Alissa as a male name
- Ranked #6,969 in 1989
- 6 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1978 (7 births)
Alissa as a female name
- Ranked #1,553 in 2024
- 136 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (1,231 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 34,758 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Alissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alissa from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 10,803 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alissa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Alissa, while Vermont, District of Columbia, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 703 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alissa
The name Alissa has its origins in the Greek language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "alyssos," meaning "rational" or "wise." The name has been in use for centuries, with variations in spelling and pronunciation across different regions and time periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alissa can be found in Greek mythology. In the epic poem "The Odyssey" by Homer, Alissa is mentioned as the daughter of Dymas and the wife of Polyctor. This reference suggests that the name was in use during the 8th century BC, when the poem is believed to have been composed.
During the Byzantine era, the name Alissa gained popularity among Greek-speaking populations in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Several notable figures from this period bore the name, including Saint Alissa of Thessalonica, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD.
In the Middle Ages, the name Alissa spread to various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong Greek cultural influences. One notable figure from this time was Alissa of Outremer, a French noblewoman and crusader who participated in the Sixth Crusade in the 13th century.
The Renaissance period saw the name Alissa continue to be used across Europe. One notable example is Alissa Galvani, an Italian scientist and philosopher from the 18th century, who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and the understanding of animal electricity.
In the 19th century, the name Alissa gained popularity in Russia, where it was often spelled as "Alyssa." One notable figure from this era was Alyssa Dolgorukaya, a Russian princess and philanthropist who founded several charitable organizations and schools.
Throughout history, the name Alissa has been associated with wisdom, rationality, and intelligence. Its Greek roots have lent it a sense of timeless elegance and cultural significance, making it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a rich heritage and meaningful connotations.
People
Alissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36,822 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alissa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 9,308 US residents.
Is Alissa a common name?
We classify Alissa as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 38,521 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Alissa was 1998, when 1,231 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alissa is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 34,758 people with the name Alissa, or 11.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,148 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Alissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Alissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 34,758 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Alissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alissa is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.9%) and Black (5.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Alissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (24,843 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alissa a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Alissa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Alissa as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Alissa, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.