Allisa
A feminine variant of Alice, meaning "noble" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 1,271 living Americans carry the first name Allisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Allisa today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Allisa births was 1998 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Allisa. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 269,673 Americans
Peak year
1998
56 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2015 SSA rank
#8,976
Tracked since 1960
Census
Allisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,437 people with the first name Allisa, which placed it at #9,592 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
#9,592
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,437 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Allisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allisa is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.0%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Allisa 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 Allisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 902
- Hispanic or Latino14.0% · 201
- Black or African American13.4% · 192
- Two or more races4.9% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 18
Popularity
Allisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Allisa 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 439 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
Allisa 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 Allisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Allisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Allisa, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Allisa
The name Allisa finds its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in the Old Germanic and Old Norse traditions. It is derived from the root word "all," which means "all" or "whole," and the suffix "-is," which is a common feminine ending in these languages. The name can be interpreted to mean "all-encompassing" or "complete."
In the early medieval period, the name Allisa was primarily used in regions where Germanic cultures and languages were prevalent, such as in present-day Germany, Scandinavia, and parts of northern Europe. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 8th century, with mentions in various chronicles and historical documents from these regions.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Allisa was Allisa of Saxony, a noble woman who lived in the 9th century and played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of the Saxon kingdom. Another notable bearer of the name was Allisa the Wise, a renowned scholar and philosopher from the 11th century, whose writings on theology and metaphysics were widely studied and influential during the Middle Ages.
In the 12th century, the name gained popularity among the noble classes in parts of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands. Allisa of Brabant, born in 1165, was a renowned patron of the arts and a influential figure in the cultural and intellectual circles of her time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Allisa was associated with several notable figures in the arts and literature. Allisa Rossetti, born in 1492 in Italy, was a celebrated painter and poet, and her works were highly regarded among the cultural elite of the time.
As the name spread across Europe, it also gained popularity in other regions and cultures. In the 18th century, Allisa Montague, born in 1718 in England, was a renowned writer and social activist, whose works advocated for women's rights and education.
Throughout history, the name Allisa has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each leaving their mark on the world in their own unique way. From noble women and scholars to artists and activists, the name has been carried by many remarkable individuals who have contributed to the richness of human experience and knowledge.
People
Allisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Allisa 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
Allisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Allisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,271 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Allisa 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 269,673 US residents.
Is Allisa a common name?
We classify Allisa as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,340 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Allisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Allisa was 1998, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Allisa is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Allisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,437 people with the name Allisa, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,592 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 Allisa 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 Allisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Allisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,433 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Allisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Allisa is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.0%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Allisa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Allisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (902 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 Allisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Allisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Allisa 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 Allisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Allisa 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 Allisa 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 Allisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.