Alyss
A feminine variant of the French name Alice, meaning "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 397 living Americans carry the first name Alyss. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alyss today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alyss births was 2012 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alyss. 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 Alyss with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
397
~ 1 in 863,361 Americans
Peak year
2012
22 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,350
Tracked since 1984
Census
Alyss in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 446 people with the first name Alyss, which placed it at #22,352 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
#22,352
National first-name rank
People counted
446
446 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alyss
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alyss is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.2%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Alyss 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 Alyss at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 251
- Hispanic or Latino26.2% · 117
- Black or African American8.5% · 38
- Two or more races4.3% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 10
Popularity
Alyss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alyss from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alyss 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 Alyss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alyss' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alyss
The name Alyss has its origins in the Old French language, where it was derived from the Germanic name Adeliza or Adeliz. This name can be traced back to the 11th century and was a popular choice among the Norman nobility. It is believed to have originated from the Germanic elements "adal," meaning noble, and "lind," meaning tender or soft.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alyss can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Æliz." This historical record, commissioned by William the Conqueror, was a survey of landowners in England and provides a glimpse into the usage of the name during that time period.
In the 12th century, Alyss (or variations such as Aelis, Alis, and Aliz) appeared in various historical records and chronicles. One notable figure was Alyss of Hainault (c. 1170-1246), a countess and daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault. She played a significant role in the politics of the Low Countries during her lifetime.
Another historical figure with the name Alyss was Alyss de Solers (c. 1290-1368), a French noblewoman and Dame of Armentières. She was known for her involvement in the Hundred Years' War between England and France, and her story was documented in contemporary chronicles.
During the Renaissance period, the name Alyss was popularized by the French philosopher and writer Alain-René Lesage (1668-1747), who used the name for a character in his novel "The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane." This literary work contributed to the widespread recognition and usage of the name.
In the 19th century, Alyss Cartwright (1837-1919) was a notable English philanthropist and social reformer. She dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the working class and was instrumental in establishing various charitable organizations.
While the name Alyss has its roots in ancient history, it has continued to be used throughout various periods and cultures, with each individual bearing the name leaving their unique mark on the world.
People
Alyss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alyss 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
Alyss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alyss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 397 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alyss 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 863,361 US residents.
Is Alyss a common name?
We classify Alyss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 406 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alyss most popular?
The single biggest year for Alyss was 2012, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alyss is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alyss in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 446 people with the name Alyss, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,352 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 Alyss 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 Alyss?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alyss appears almost entirely female. Of the 447 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Alyss?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alyss is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.2%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Alyss most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alyss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (251 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 Alyss in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alyss a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alyss 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 Alyss still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alyss 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 Alyss 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 named Alyss?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.