Allissa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "truth" or "honest."
Name Census estimates that about 1,988 living Americans carry the first name Allissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Allissa today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Allissa births was 1998 (142 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Allissa. 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 Allissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 172,412 Americans
Peak year
1998
142 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2018 SSA rank
#9,854
Tracked since 1969
Census
Allissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,842 people with the first name Allissa, which placed it at #7,998 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
#7,998
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,842 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Allissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allissa is White at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.2%) 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 Allissa 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 Allissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.7% · 1,357
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 225
- Black or African American5.6% · 103
- Two or more races5.0% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 23
Popularity
Allissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Allissa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 868 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
Allissa 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 Allissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Allissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Allissa, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Allissa
The name Allissa has its origins in the Greek language, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "alētheia," which means truth or sincerity. The name is believed to have emerged during the Classical period of ancient Greece, between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.
In Greek mythology, Aletheia was the personification of truth, often depicted as a young, modest maiden. She was considered the opposite of Lethe, the personification of oblivion and forgetfulness. The name Allissa was likely a variation of Aletheia, reflecting the same values of honesty and truthfulness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Allissa can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who lived from around 46 to 120 CE. In his writings, he mentioned a woman named Allissa who was known for her integrity and unwavering commitment to the truth.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Allissa. One such figure was Allissa of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE. She was renowned for her unwavering faith and willingness to sacrifice her life for her beliefs.
In the 12th century, Allissa de Montfort was a French noblewoman and crusader. She accompanied her husband, Simon de Montfort, on the Fourth Crusade and played a significant role in the siege of Zara in 1202.
Another notable Allissa was Allissa de Chatillon, a 13th-century French countess and heiress. She was known for her political acumen and her role in the Barons' War against King Henry III of England.
In the realm of literature, Allissa Derevitzky was a 19th-century Russian novelist and playwright. She was celebrated for her works that explored themes of love, family, and societal issues.
Lastly, Allissa Faris was an American soprano who lived from 1920 to 2002. She had a successful career as an opera singer and performed with numerous prestigious companies, including the Metropolitan Opera.
People
Allissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Allissa 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
Allissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Allissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,988 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Allissa 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 172,412 US residents.
Is Allissa a common name?
We classify Allissa as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,054 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Allissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Allissa was 1998, when 142 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Allissa is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Allissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,842 people with the name Allissa, or 0.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,998 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 Allissa 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 Allissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Allissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,836 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 Allissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allissa is White at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.2%) 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 Allissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Allissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.7% (1,357 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 Allissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Allissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Allissa 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 Allissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Allissa 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 Allissa 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 are called Allissa?
Find out how many Americans are named Allissa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.