How popular is the baby name Alyssa in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Alyssa.

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Popularity of the baby name Alyssa


Posts that mention the name Alyssa

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2016

Which girl names increased the most in popularity from 2015 to 2016? Which ones decreased the most?

The SSA likes to answer this question by analyzing ranking differences within the top 1,000. I like to answer it by looking at raw number differences that take the full list into account. So let’s check out the results using both methods…

Girl Names: Biggest Increases, 2015 to 2016

Rankings

1. Kehlani, +2,487 spots — up from 3,359th to 872nd
2. Royalty, +618 spots — up from 1,150th to 532nd
3. Saoirse, +465 spots — up from 1,448th to 983rd
4. Ophelia, +396 spots — up from 976th to 580th
5. Aitana, +368 spots — up from 917th to 549th
6. Itzayana, +356 spots — up from 1,125th to 769th
7. Alessia, +348 spots — up from 1,175th to 827th
8. Kaylani, +301 spots — up from 1,056th to 755th
9. Avianna, +298 spots — up from 751st to 453rd
10. Nalani, +294 spots — up from 1,280th to 986th

Kehlani and Kaylani were influenced by singer/songwriter Kehlani Parrish. (Kehlani was the top debut name of 2015, and variant Khelani debuted impressively in 2016.)

Royalty was influenced by the R&B singer Chris Brown, whose daughter (b. 2014) and 7th album (2015) were both called Royalty.

Saoirse was influenced by Irish actress Saoirse Ronan — perhaps specifically by those American talk show appearances in which she talked to the hosts (Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Colbert, etc.) about how to pronounce her name. Plus there was that widely circulated Ryan Gosling quote on the same topic (“It’s Ser-sha, like inertia”).

Alessia was influenced by singer/songwriter Alessia Cara.

Raw Numbers

1. Adeline, +1,700 baby girls — up from 2,403 to 4,103
2. Charlotte, +1,649 baby girls — up from 11,381 to 13,030
3. Riley, +1,390 baby girls — up from 5,720 to 7,110
4. Adaline, +971 baby girls — up from 902 to 1,873
5. Amelia, +864 baby girls — up from 9,838 to 10,702
6. Luna, +849 baby girls — up from 2,796 to 3,645
7. Emilia, +804 baby girls — up from 2,215 to 3,019
8. Camila, +765 baby girls — up from 5,271 to 6,036
9. Nova, +754 baby girls — up from 1,518 to 2,272
10. Evelyn, +708 baby girls — up from 9,352 to 10,060

Adeline and Adaline were influenced, at least initially, by the movie The Age of Adaline (2015).

Other names that saw raw number increases in the 200+ range included Eleanor, Teagan, Kinsley, Scarlett, Everly, Quinn, Aria, Remi, Harper, Penelope, Thea, Claire, Rowan, Hazel, Ruby, Blake, Aurora, Ivy, Harley, Eloise, Willow, Elena, Josephine, Alice, Blakely, Saylor, Nora, Leia, Iris, Margot, Isla, Freya, Samara, Joy, Zara, Eliana, Joanna, and Malia.

Girl Names: Biggest Decreases, 2015 to 2016

Rankings

1. Caitlin, -542 spots — down from 609th to 1,151st
2. Caitlyn, -462 spots — down from 598th to 1,060th
3. Katelynn, -402 spots — down from 652nd to 1,054th
4. Kaitlynn, -381 spots — down from 994th to 1,375th
5. Neriah, -344 spots — down from 943rd to 1,287th
6. Bryanna, -276 spots — down from 783rd to 1,059th
7. Kiley, -275 spots — down from 898th to 1,173rd
8. Yaritza, -271 spots — down from 935th to 1,206th
9. Denise, -210 spots — down from 993rd to 1,203rd
10. Kaelyn, -203 spots — down from 521st to 724th

Caitlin, Caitlyn, Katelynn, and Kaitlynn, were negatively influenced by Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner), who appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair in mid-2015 with the headline “Call me Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine

This reminds me of what happened a few decades ago to Hillary — another name that was strongly associated for a time with a female who wasn’t conforming to gender norms. Perhaps tellingly, the name Bruce wasn’t hit nearly as hard. Jenner did fall of the charts, though.

Raw Numbers

1. Sophia, -1,311 baby girls — down from 17,381 to 16,070
2. Alexa, -1,289 baby girls — down from 6,049 to 4,760
3. Madison, -1,090 baby girls — down from 10,072 to 8,982
4. Emma, -1,001 baby girls — down from 20,415 to 19,414 (…but still the #1 name overall)
5. Aubrey, -869 baby girls — down from 7,376 to 6,507
6. Isabella, -852 baby girls — down from 15,574 to 14,722
7. Emily, -840 baby girls — down from 11,766 to 10,926
8. Kylie, -753 baby girls — down from 4,149 to 3,396
9. Alexis, -744 baby girls — down from 3,406 to 2,662
10. Abigail, -672 baby girls — down from 12,371 to 11,699

Other names that saw raw number drops in the 200+ range included Kaitlyn, Avery, Allison, Alyssa, London, Kaylee, Sofia, Katelyn, Kimberly, Zoey, Mia, Chloe, Kendall, Taylor, Sadie, Khloe, Mackenzie, Hannah, Peyton, Addison, Samantha, Ashley, Olivia, Gabriella, Brianna, Lauren, Anna, Brooklyn, Morgan, Jocelyn, Sydney, Natalie, Victoria, Makayla, Zoe, Hailey, Payton, Brooke, Annabelle, Trinity, Keira, Adalyn, Jordyn, Kayla, Molly, Audrey, Faith, Madelyn, Lillian, Caitlin, Caitlyn, Makenzie, Paige, Aaliyah, Paisley, Nevaeh, Elizabeth, Amy, and Jessica.

Interesting how certain like-names went in opposite directions last year. Leia, Alessia, and Adaline rose; Leah, Alyssa, and Adalyn fell.

Do you have any other explanations/guesses about any of the names above? If so, please comment!

(In 2015, the big winners were Alexa and Alaia, and the big losers were Isabella and Isis.)

Sources: Change in Popularity from 2015 to 2016, Emma and Noah Remain Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2016

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. Non-Biblical

The ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names in the girl’s top 20 is about the same today as it was 100 years ago, though the ratio did change a bit mid-century.

(In contrast, there’s been a steady increase in the number of Biblical-origin names among the top boy names.)

Here’s the color-coded table — Biblical names are in the yellow cells, non-Biblical names are in the green cells, and several borderline names (which I counted as non-Biblical) are in the orange cells:

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. non-Biblical.
Popular girl names over time: Biblical (yellow) vs. non-Biblical. Click to enlarge.
  • Biblical names: Abigail, Anna, Betty (via Elizabeth), Chloe, Danielle, Deborah, Debra, Elizabeth, Hannah, Isabella (via Elizabeth), Janet, Jean, Joan, Judith, Judy, Julie, Lillian (via Elizabeth), Lisa (via Elizabeth), Lois, Marie, Marilyn, Mary, Mia (via Maria), Michelle, Nancy (via Anne), Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth, Sandra (via Alexander), Sarah, Sharon, Stephanie, Susan, Tammy (via Tamar/Tamara)
  • Non-Biblical names: Alexis, Alice, Alyssa, Amanda, Amber, Amelia, Amy, Angela, Ashley, Aubrey, Avery, Barbara, Brenda, Brianna, Brittany, Carol, Carolyn, Catherine, Charlotte, Christina, Christine, Crystal, Cynthia, Diane, Donna, Doris, Dorothy, Edna, Ella, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Florence, Frances, Gladys, Grace, Harper, Heather, Helen, Irene, Jennifer, Joyce, Karen, Kathleen, Kayla, Kelly, Kimberly, Laura, Lauren, Linda, Lori, Louise, Madison, Margaret, Marjorie, Megan, Melissa, Mildred, Natalie, Nicole, Olivia, Pamela, Patricia, Rose, Shannon, Shirley, Sofia, Sophia, Taylor, Tiffany, Victoria, Virginia
  • Borderline names:
    • Ava (could be based on the Germanic root avi or the Biblical name Eve)
    • Jessica (literary invention, but Shakespeare may have based it on the Biblical name Iscah)
    • Samantha (possibly inspired by the Biblical name Samuel)

Again, feels pretty weird to put overtly Christian names like Christina and Christine in the non-Biblical category, but oh well.

Here are the year-by-year tallies:

YearTop 20 names
given to…		# Biblical# Non-Biblical
191431% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
192431% of baby girls7 (35%)13 (65%)
193432% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
194435% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
195434% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
196424% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
197424% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
198426% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
199419% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
200414% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
201412% of baby girls5 (25%)15 (75%)

Just like with the boy names, though, there’s a big difference between the 1914 and 2014 sample sizes — 31% and 12%. So let’s also look at the 2014 top 100, which covers 31% of female births.

By my count, last year’s top 100 girl names were about a quarter Biblical, three-quarters non-Biblical:

Biblical names (27)Non-Biblical/Borderline names (73)
Isabella (via Elizabeth), Mia (via Maria), Abigail, Elizabeth, Chloe, Addison (via Adam), Lillian (via Elizabeth), Hannah, Anna, Leah, Gabriella, Sadie (via Sarah), Sarah, Annabelle, Madelyn (via Magdalene), Lucy (via Lucius), Alexa (via Alexander), Genesis, Naomi, Eva, Lydia, Julia, Khloe, Madeline (via Magdalene), Alexandra, Gianna (via Joanna), Isabelle (via Elizabeth)Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Charlotte, Harper, Sofia, Avery, Amelia, Evelyn, Ella, Victoria, Aubrey, Grace, Zoey, Natalie, Brooklyn, Lily, Layla, Scarlett, Aria, Zoe, Samantha, Audrey, Ariana, Allison, Savannah, Arianna, Camila, Penelope, Claire, Aaliyah, Riley, Skylar, Nora, Hailey, Kaylee, Paisley, Kennedy, Ellie, Peyton, Caroline, Serenity, Aubree, Alexis, Nevaeh, Stella, Violet, Mackenzie, Bella, Autumn, Mila, Kylie, Maya, Piper, Alyssa, Taylor, Eleanor, Melanie, Faith, Katherine, Brianna, Ashley, Ruby, Sophie, London, Lauren, Alice, Vivian, Hadley, Jasmine

Faith, Grace, Angela, Nevaeh, Natalie…all technically non-Biblical.

27%-73% is remarkably similar to both 25%-75% (smaller 2014 sample) and 30%-70% (1914 sample).

So here’s the question of the day: If you had to choose all of your children’s names from either one group or the other — Biblical names or non-Biblical names — which group would you stick to, and why?

Popular baby names in Yukon (Canada), 1991-2015

Flag of Yukon
Flag of Yukon

Ever wonder what the top baby names in Yukon are?

Me too! So I looked them up.

Turns out the sparsely populated Canadian territory — which is next door to Alaska, larger than California, and home to only about 34,000 people — releases baby name rankings that cover 5 years at a time. So let’s roll the five most recent lists (i.e., 25 years of popular names) into a single post, shall we?

According to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, these were the most popular baby names in the territory over the last quarter century…

From 2011 to 2015, the top baby names in Yukon were Ava and Liam:

Girl names (2011-15)Boy names (2011-15)
Ava, 13 baby girls
Emma, 12
Hannah, 12
Sophia, 10
Avery, 9
Emily, 9
Grace, 9
Amelia, 7
Aurora, 6
Ella, 6
Lily, 6
Olivia, 6
Sadie, 6
Sophie, 6		Liam, 17 baby boys
Mason, 14
Jack, 13
William, 13
Alexander, 11
Benjamin, 11
Levi, 11
Hunter, 10
Ethan, 9
Jacob, 9
Thomas, 9
Eli, 8
Gavin, 8
Noah, 8
Oliver, 8
Samuel, 8
Carter, 7
Charles, 7
Connor, 7
Jaxon, 7
Aiden, 6
Luke, 6
Owen, 6
Xavier, 6
  • From 2011 to 2015, Yukon welcomed 962 baby girls. A total of 654 girl names were bestowed, and 511 (78.1%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2011 to 2015, Yukon welcomed 1,088 baby boys. A total of 589 boy names were bestowed, and 400 (67.9%) of those names were used only once.
  • According to the CBC, the top names in Yukon in 2015 specifically were Sophia and Jack.

From 2006 to 2010, the top baby names in Yukon were Madison and James:

Girl names (2006-10)Boy names (2006-10)
Madison, 11 baby girls
Olivia, 9
Brooklyn, 8
Emma, 8
Lily, 8
Mia, 8
Avery, 7
Chloe, 7
Isabelle, 7
Sophie, 7
Abigail, 6
Ava, 6
Ella, 6
Emily, 6
Hailey, 6
Layla, 6
Sophia, 6		James, 11 baby boys
Liam, 10
Logan, 10
Gabriel, 9
Jacob, 9
Matthew, 9
Noah, 9
Ryan, 8
Alexander, 7
Daniel, 7
Oliver, 7
Samuel, 7
William, 7
Andrew, 6
Ethan, 6
Gavin, 6
Joseph, 6
Marcus, 6
Mason, 6
Nathan, 6
Thomas, 6
Xavier, 6
  • From 2006 to 2010, Yukon welcomed 912 baby girls. A total of 601 girl names were bestowed, and 479 (79.7%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2006 to 2010, Yukon welcomed 989 baby boys. A total of 559 boy names were bestowed, and 402 (71.9%) of those names were used only once.

From 2001 to 2005, the top baby names in Yukon were Emily and Logan:

Girl names (2001-05)Boy names (2001-05)
Emily, 13 baby girls
Hannah, 12
Emma, 11
Madison, 10
Olivia, 10
Alyssa, 7
Sarah, 7
Brooke, 6
Jessica, 6
Morgan, 6
Taylor, 6		Logan, 12 baby boys
Ethan, 11
Andrew, 10
Daniel, 10
James, 10
Joshua, 10
Tristan, 10
Cameron, 9
Jacob, 9
Adam, 8
Christopher, 8
Cole, 8
Liam, 8
Michael, 8
Nathan, 8
Nicholas, 8
Aidan, 7
Alexander, 7
Austin, 7
Jesse, 7
Justin, 7
Matthew, 7
Noah, 7
William, 7
Dylan, 6
Max, 6
Seth, 6
Thomas, 6
  • From 2001-2005, Yukon welcomed 857 baby girls. A total of 586 girl names were bestowed, and 462 (78.8%) of those names were used only once.
  • From 2001-2005, Yukon welcomed 870 baby boys. A total of 478 boy names were bestowed, and 339 (70.9%) of those names were used only once.

From 1996 to 2000, the top baby names in Yukon were Emily and Alexander:

Girl names (1996-2000)Boy names (1996-2000)
Emily, 15 baby girls
Samantha, 14
Sarah, 14
Hannah, 11
Jessica, 11
Taylor, 10
Emma, 9
Erin, 8
Jasmine, 8
Sydney, 8
Amber, 7
Julia, 7
Madison, 7
Megan, 7
Nicole, 7
Amy, 6
Brittany, 6
Chelsea, 6
Cheyenne, 6
Kathleen, 6
Lauren, 6		Alexander, 17 baby boys
Brandon, 16
Joshua, 16
Jacob, 15
Matthew, 14
Andrew, 13
Benjamin, 13
David, 12
William, 12
Jordan, 11
Kyle, 11
Tyler, 11
Dylan, 10
Michael, 10
Nathan, 10
Ryan, 10
Tristan, 10
Anthony, 9
Cody, 9
Daniel, 9
James, 9

From 1991 to 1995, the top baby names in Yukon were Ashley/Brittany/Samantha (3-way tie) and Michael:

Girl names (1991-95)Boy names (1991-95)
Ashley, 14 baby girls
Brittany, 14
Samantha, 14
Kayla, 13
Sarah, 13
Emily, 12
Jessica, 12
Heather, 10
Megan, 9
Nicole, 9
Jennifer, 8
Kaitlyn, 8
Sara, 8
Alexandra, 7
Amanda, 7
Jasmine, 7
Rebecca, 7
Christina, 6
Jenna, 6
Robyn, 6
Shelby, 6		Michael, 28 baby boys
Ryan, 19
Cody, 18
Kyle, 18
Matthew, 18
Joshua, 17
Tyler, 16
James, 15
Daniel, 14
David, 14
Logan, 14
Alexander, 13
Jordan, 13
William, 13
Benjamin, 12
Brandon, 12
John, 12
Nathan, 12
Nicholas, 11
Patrick, 11
Dylan, 10
Steven, 10

Sources: Yukon Baby Names 2001-2005 [pdf], Yukon Baby Names 2006-2010 [pdf], Baby Names in Yukon, 2011–2015 [pdf]

Image: Adapted from Flag of Yukon (public domain)

[Latest update: Jul. 2022]

Popular baby names in Malta, 2013

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

Malta’s top baby names of 2013 came out a few weeks ago.

According to data from the National Statistics Office, the most popular name-groups last year were Elena/Elenia/Helena/Ella and Luke/Luca/Lucas.

Here are Malta’s top 20 girl name-groups and top 20 boy name-groups of 2013:

Girl Names

  1. Elena/Elenia/Helena/Ella, 106 baby girls (5.5% of all girls)
  2. Eliza/Elisa/Elizabeth/Elise, 78
  3. Julia/Yulia/Julianne, 69
  4. Emma/Emmanuela/Ema, 51
  5. Maya/Mia/Myah, 47
  6. Maria/Marija/Mariah/Marie, 42
  7. Lea/Leah/Leia, 37
  8. Martina/Martine, 36
  9. Christina/Christa/Christabel/Krystle, 35
  10. Kailey/Kai/Kaleigh, 34 (3-way tie)
    • Catherine/Katrina/Kate/Katya, 34 (3-way tie)
    • Emilia/Emily/Emelie, 34 (3-way tie)
  11. Amy/Aimee, 32
  12. Anna/Hannah/Ann, 31
  13. Mikela/Makaila/Michelle, 27 (tie)
    • Alison/Alice/Alicia/Alyssa/Aly, 27 (tie)
  14. Sophia/Sophie, 26
  15. Jade/Giada, 22 (tie)
    • Alexandra/Alessia/Alexia/Lexi, 22 (tie)
  16. Aaliyah/Alaya, 21
  17. Chloe/Khloe, 20 (3-way tie)
    • Amber/Amberley, 20 (3-way tie)
    • Karla/Carla/Carly, 20 (3-way tie)
  18. Jasmine/Yasmine/Yasmeen, 17 (3-way tie)
    • Nina, 17 (3-way tie)
    • Faith, 17 (3-way tie)
  19. Hailey/Hailee/Hayleigh, 16
  20. Nicole/Nicola/Nicky, 14 (4-way tie)
    • Rachel/Raquel, 14 (4-way tie)
    • Keira/Kyra, 14 (4-way tie)
    • Claire/Clara/Clarisse, 14 (4-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Luke/Luca/Lucas, 106 baby boys (5% of all boys)
  2. Matthew/Matthias/Matteo, 93
  3. Jacob/Jake, 70
  4. Zachary/Zak/Zack, 56
  5. John/Jean/Jonathan/Juan/Gan, 53 (tie)
    • Michael/Miguel/Mikhail, 53 (tie)
  6. Andrew/Andreas/Andre/Andy, 46
  7. Kaiden/Kayden/Kai, 45 (tie)
    • Alexander/Alessandro/Alec, 45 (tie)
  8. Aiden/Ayden, 43
  9. Liam/William, 42
  10. Nicholas/Nick/Nicolai, 41
  11. Benjamin/Ben, 40
  12. Daniel/Dan/Danil, 33
  13. Isaac/Izaak, 32 (tie)
    • Mason/Maison, 32 (tie)
  14. Jack/Jackson/Jacques, 30
  15. Jaden/Jayden/Jadon, 29 (tie)
    • Thomas/Tommas/Tommy, 29 (tie)
  16. Nathan/Nathaniel, 28
  17. Julian/Julien/Guiliano, 27
  18. Gabriel/Gabrijel/Gabryl, 24 (tie)
    • Adam, 24 (tie)
  19. Joseph/Beppe/Giuseppe/Josef, 23 (tie)
    • Noah, 23 (tie)
  20. James/Jamie/Jayme, 22 (3-way tie)
    • Samuel/Sam, 22 (3-way tie)
    • Keiran/Kyran, 22 (3-way tie)

Some of the unusual names registered in Malta last year were Aizley, Amporn, Breeze, Chinenye, Coco, Delson, Diyas, Enonima, Freedom, Gundula, Jaceyrhaer, Kobbun, Limoni, Love, Netsrik, Summer, Symphony, Zarkareia and Zveyrone.

Malta’s 2012 list was topped by Eliza/Lisa/Elsie/Elyse/Bettina and Matthew/Matthias/Matteo.

Sources: NSO – Naming Babies: 2013, Quality and Amporn top the list of unusual names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)