Alysha
A variant of Alicia, of Arabic origin meaning "exalted" or "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 9,206 living Americans carry the first name Alysha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alysha today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alysha births was 1990 (630 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alysha. 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 Alysha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.2K
~ 1 in 37,232 Americans
Peak year
1990
630 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,324
Tracked since 1965
Census
Alysha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,146 people with the first name Alysha, which placed it at #2,840 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
#2,840
National first-name rank
People counted
8.1K
8,146 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alysha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alysha is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Black (13.8%). 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 Alysha 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 Alysha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.2% · 4,658
- Hispanic or Latino16.5% · 1,348
- Black or African American13.8% · 1,128
- Two or more races7.0% · 570
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 354
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 88
Popularity
Alysha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alysha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,118 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
Alysha 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 Alysha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alyshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Alysha, while South Dakota, Rhode Island, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 157 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alysha
The name Alysha is a variant of the Hebrew name Aliza, which means "joyful" or "happy." The name is derived from the Hebrew root word "aliz," meaning "to rejoice" or "to be joyful." The earliest known use of the name Alysha dates back to the late 20th century, although the name Aliza has been in use for centuries.
Historically, the name Alysha has been most commonly used in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. However, its roots can be traced back to ancient Hebrew culture and language.
While the name Alysha itself does not appear in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Hebrew root name Aliza has been mentioned in various Jewish literature and documents throughout history. One notable example is the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible, where the name Aliza is referenced as a variant of the name Hadassah, which was the Hebrew name of Queen Esther.
In terms of historical figures bearing the name Alysha, there are a few notable examples. One of the earliest recorded instances is Alysha Greig (born in 1986), a Canadian actress and model known for her roles in television shows such as "The Killing" and "Supernatural."
Another notable figure is Alysha Beharie (born in 1985), an American actress best known for her roles in the television series "Sleepy Hollow" and the film "42," where she portrayed Rachel Robinson, the wife of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.
Alysha Deslorieux (born in 1989) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who rose to prominence as a contestant on the reality television show "Canadian Idol" in 2007.
Alysha Hinds (born in 1987) is an American actress known for her roles in films such as "Deuces" and "Abduction," as well as television shows like "Criminal Minds" and "NCIS: New Orleans."
Alysha Brilla (born in 1988) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and Juno Award nominee, known for her blend of Indian classical music and Western pop.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Alysha. While the name may be relatively modern in its usage, its roots can be traced back to ancient Hebrew culture and language, reflecting a connection to the concepts of joy and happiness.
People
Alysha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alysha 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
Alysha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alysha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,206 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alysha 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 37,232 US residents.
Is Alysha a common name?
We classify Alysha as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,557 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alysha most popular?
The single biggest year for Alysha was 1990, when 630 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alysha is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alysha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,146 people with the name Alysha, or 2.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,840 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 Alysha 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 Alysha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alysha appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,140 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Alysha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alysha is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Black (13.8%). 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 Alysha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alysha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (4,658 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 Alysha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alysha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alysha 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 Alysha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alysha 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 Alysha 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 Alysha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.