Alysia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "rational" or "rational one".
Name Census estimates that about 8,987 living Americans carry the first name Alysia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alysia today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alysia births was 1989 (386 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alysia. 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 Alysia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.0K
~ 1 in 38,139 Americans
Peak year
1989
386 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,762
Tracked since 1950
Census
Alysia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,859 people with the first name Alysia, which placed it at #2,902 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
#2,902
National first-name rank
People counted
7.9K
7,859 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alysia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alysia is White at 49.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and Black (17.7%). 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 Alysia 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 Alysia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.9% · 3,924
- Hispanic or Latino23.0% · 1,810
- Black or African American17.7% · 1,394
- Two or more races6.0% · 474
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 171
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 86
Popularity
Alysia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alysia from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,785 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
Alysia 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 Alysia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alysias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Alysia, while New Hampshire, Mississippi, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 161 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alysia
The name Alysia has its roots in the Greek language, originating from the word "alysia," which means "wandering" or "roaming." This name was popular among the ancient Greeks, particularly in the regions of Attica and the Ionian Islands, where it was often given to children born to families with a nomadic or seafaring lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alysia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentions a woman by this name in his accounts of the Greco-Persian Wars in the 5th century BC. Additionally, the name appears in several ancient inscriptions and manuscripts from the classical period, suggesting its widespread use among the Greek population.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alysia. One of the most famous was Alysia of Thessalonica, a Byzantine philosopher and scholar who lived in the 5th century AD. She was renowned for her contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy, and her writings on the subjects were widely studied in the Byzantine Empire.
Another notable Alysia was Alysia of Corinth, a renowned poet and dramatist who lived in the 3rd century BC. Her plays, which explored themes of love, betrayal, and the human condition, were widely performed throughout the Greek world and were highly influential in the development of ancient Greek theater.
In the realm of literature, Alysia of Alexandria was a celebrated writer and scholar who lived in the 2nd century AD. She is best known for her comprehensive work on the history and culture of ancient Egypt, which served as a valuable reference for generations of scholars and historians.
During the Renaissance period, Alysia Gonzaga (1549-1624) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her patronage of artists such as Titian and her significant contributions to the cultural life of Renaissance Italy.
In more recent times, Alysia Reiner (born 1970) is an American actress and producer, best known for her roles in the television series "Orange Is the New Black" and "Better Things." She has received critical acclaim for her performances and has been recognized for her work in promoting diversity and representation in the entertainment industry.
People
Alysia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alysia 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
Alysia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alysia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,987 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alysia 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 38,139 US residents.
Is Alysia a common name?
We classify Alysia 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, 9,470 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alysia most popular?
The single biggest year for Alysia was 1989, when 386 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alysia 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 Alysia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,859 people with the name Alysia, or 2.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,902 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 Alysia 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 Alysia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alysia appears almost entirely female. Of the 7,857 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 Alysia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alysia is White at 49.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.0%) and Black (17.7%). 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 Alysia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alysia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.9% (3,924 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 Alysia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alysia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alysia 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 Alysia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alysia 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 Alysia 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 Alysia?
Want to know how many people have the name Alysia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.