Lis
A feminine name of French origin meaning "God's promise."
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the first name Lis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lis today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lis births was 1961 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lis. 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.
People living today
318
~ 1 in 1,077,844 Americans
Peak year
1961
13 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,630
Tracked since 1953
Popularity
Lis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lis from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Lis remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lis 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 Lis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lis
The name Lis has its origins in the Welsh language, deriving from the word "llis" which means "court" or "palace." It is believed to have emerged as a given name during the medieval period in Wales, around the 12th to 15th centuries.
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, some historical references suggest that it may have been used as a nickname or shortened form of longer Welsh names such as Llewellyn or Llewelyn, which were popular among the Welsh nobility and royalty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lis can be found in the "Brut y Tywysogion" (Chronicle of the Princes), a medieval Welsh chronicle from the 13th century, which mentions a person named "Lis ap Gwilym" who lived in the late 12th century.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with Lis Penrhyn (c. 1500-1580), a Welsh landowner and member of the gentry from Penrhyn, Caernarfonshire. She is remembered for her involvement in the legal disputes over the ownership of the Penrhyn estate.
Another notable historical figure with the name Lis was Lis Llwyd (c. 1540-1615), a Welsh poet and writer who composed works in both Welsh and English. He is considered one of the most important figures in the Welsh Renaissance period.
In the 19th century, Lis Llwyd (1833-1914), a Welsh Baptist minister and author, made significant contributions to Welsh literature and religious writings. He is best known for his work "Hanes Eglwys Crist" (History of the Church of Christ).
More recently, Lis Møller (1940-2018) was a Danish artist and sculptor known for her abstract and minimalist works. Her sculptures and installations have been exhibited in various galleries and museums around the world.
While the name Lis has roots in Welsh culture, it has also been used in other parts of Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, where it may have different linguistic origins or meanings.
People
Lis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 318 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lis 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 1,077,844 US residents.
Is Lis a common name?
We classify Lis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lis most popular?
The single biggest year for Lis was 1961, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lis is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lis 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.
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.