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, 2011

Which girl names saw the biggest increases in popularity from 2010 to 2011? How about the biggest decreases?

According to the numbers, the winner was Harper:

  1. Harper, +2012 babies (rank change: 118th to 54th)
  2. Aubrey, +1784 babies (rank change: 44th to 20th)
  3. Aubree, +1509 babies (rank change: 223rd to 99th)
  4. Emma, +1397 babies (rank change: 3rd to 3rd)
  5. Zoey, +1164 babies (rank change: 47th to 28th)
  6. Sophia, +1129 babies (rank change: 2nd to 1st)
  7. Aria, +1066 babies (rank change: 353rd to 157th)
  8. Charlotte, +1024 babies (rank change: 46th to 27th)
  9. Brooklyn, +1017 babies (rank change: 34th to 21st)
  10. Sofia, +981 babies (rank change: 26th to 19th)

The loser? Isabella:

  1. Isabella, -3077 babies (rank change: 1st to 2nd)
  2. Alexis, -1740 babies (rank change: 16th to 26th)
  3. Brianna, -1098 babies (rank change: 30th to 45th)
  4. Abigail, -1059 babies (rank change: 7th to 7th)
  5. Addison, -1056 babies (rank change: 11th to 13th)
  6. Samantha, -1048 babies (rank change: 15th to 17th)
  7. Alyssa, -1001 babies (rank change: 20th to 37th)
  8. Makayla, -959 babies (rank change: 43rd to 56th)
  9. Ashley, -929 babies (rank change: 27th to 42nd)
  10. Bella, -865 babies (rank change: 48th to 60th)

Not only did Isabella see the steepest drop in terms of usage, but she also got knocked out of the #1 spot by Sophia (Sophia was last year’s top climber, btw).

Girl names that decreased in usage but increased in rank (confusingly!) include Ella, Elizabeth and Arianna.

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2010

For the last few years, the SSA has re-ordered the top 500 (or so) baby names according to rank change.

I decided to do the same sort of analysis, but change two things. First, I focused on the number of babies instead of on rankings. Second, I looked at the entire list, not just the top 500.

Needless to say, these lists and the SSA’s lists look pretty different. :)

The girl names that increased and decreased the most in terms of usage are below. The boy names will be in the next post.

Biggest Increases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Sophia, +3608 babies (rank change: 4th to 2nd)
  2. Khloe, +1926 (95th to 42nd)
  3. Zoey, +1183 (75th to 47th)
  4. Charlotte, +1143 (68th to 45th)
  5. Zoe, +1080 (47th to 31st)
  6. Maci, +892 (655th to 232nd)
  7. Stella, +856 (126th to 85th)
  8. Scarlett, +781 (170th to 114th)
  9. Amelia, +739 (55th to 41st)
  10. Harper, +703 (172nd to 119th)
  11. Layla, +668 (45th to 37th)
  12. Ellie, +662 (145th to 104th)
  13. Kinley, +660 (452nd to 231st)
  14. Quinn, +637 (487th to 253rd)
  15. Tenley, +609 (2985th to 458th)
  16. Sofia, +602 (36th to 26th)
  17. Annabelle, +572 (156th to 117th)
  18. Bella, +566 (58th to 48th)
  19. Camila, +555 (80th to 61st)
  20. Hadley, +544 (363rd to 216th)

Biggest Decreases, 2009 to 2010

  1. Madison, -2111 babies (rank change: 7th to 8th)
  2. Alexis, -1712 (13th to 16th)
  3. Taylor, -1700 (22nd to 36th)
  4. Ashley, -1517 (20th to 27th)
  5. Sarah, -1502 (21st to 30th)
  6. Samantha, -1282 (15th to 15th)
  7. Kaylee, -1145 (26th to 35th)
  8. Emily, -1123 (6th to 6th)
  9. Brooke, -1106 (54th to 72nd)
  10. Brianna, -1101 (24th to 29th)
  11. Alyssa, -1001 (19th to 20th)
  12. Valeria, -977 (72nd to 94th)
  13. Kaitlyn, -926 (67th to 90th)
  14. Madelyn, -898 (59th to 76th)
  15. Destiny, -885 (57th to 71st)
  16. Mia, -841 (10th to 10th)
  17. Elizabeth, -834 (11th to 12th)
  18. Marley, -830 (149th to 234th)
  19. Kayla, -795 (35th to 43rd)
  20. Lauren, -755 (46th to 58th)

Did you notice that a few of the above (Samantha, Emily, Mia) were big winners/losers according to the numbers, and yet their rankings stayed the same? Tricky.

Tennessee family with 19 children

kinderfest

A couple of weeks ago, Gil and Kelly Bates of Lake City, Tennessee — and also of the reality TV show United Bates of America — welcomed their 19th child.

Here are the names and ages of all 19:

  1. Zachary Gilvin, called “Zach,” 23
  2. Michaella Christian, called “Michael,” 22
    • Her name is pronounced “like the male version [of] Michael with [an] “uh” sound on the end.”
  3. Erin Elise, 20
  4. William Lawson, called “Lawson,” 19
  5. Kenneth Nathaniel, called “Nathan,” 18
  6. Alyssa Joy, 17
  7. Tori Layne, 16
  8. Trace Whitfield, 15
  9. Carlin Brianne, 13
  10. Josie Kellyn, 12
  11. Katie Grace, 11
  12. Jackson Ezekiel, 9
  13. Warden Justice, 8
  14. Isaiah Courage, 7
  15. Addallee Hope, 5
    • “The double letters in her name remind us that God gave her a second chance in life when she was born with complications that caused her breathing and her heart to stop.”
  16. Ellie Bridget, 4
  17. Callie-Anna Rose, 2
  18. Judson Wyatt, 1
  19. Jeb Colton, newborn

Have any favorites?

P.S. They also have a dog named Johnny and a cat named Kitty.

Sources: Gil and Kelly Bates Welcome Baby No. 19, America’s largest family, the Bates, on miracle 19th child who survived after failing to breathe on his own at birth, About Our Family – The Bates Family, Update on Michael – The Bates Family

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Popular baby names in New York City, 2007

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

According to New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the most popular baby names in the city last year were Isabella/Sophia (tied) and Daniel.

Here are New York City’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2007:

Girl names

  1. Isabella, 539 baby girls (tie)
  2. Sophia, 539 (tie)
  3. Emily, 525
  4. Ashley, 480
  5. Sarah, 425
  6. Kayla, 414
  7. Mia, 381
  8. Olivia, 375
  9. Samantha, 368
  10. Rachel, 359
  11. Madison, 345
  12. Ava, 330
  13. Brianna, 316
  14. Emma, 286
  15. Sofia, 276
  16. Abigail, 272 (tie)
  17. Chloe, 272 (tie)
  18. Angelina, 265 (tie)
  19. Victoria, 265 (tie)
  20. Elizabeth, 261 (tie)
  21. Leah, 261 (tie)
  22. Nicole, 250
  23. Julia, 249
  24. Alexandra, 247
  25. Esther, 244
  26. Michelle, 234 (tie)
  27. Sara, 234 (tie)
  28. Alyssa, 231
  29. Maya, 227
  30. Gabriella, 223
  31. Jessica, 216
  32. Hannah, 202
  33. Arianna, 186
  34. Chaya, 184
  35. Ella, 182
  36. Anna, 179
  37. Katherine, 177
  38. Melanie, 176
  39. Natalie, 175
  40. Jada, 174
  41. Jasmine, 169 (tie)
  42. Sophie, 169 (tie)
  43. Miriam, 168
  44. Jennifer, 167
  45. Amanda, 164
  46. Grace, 160
  47. Zoe, 158
  48. Alexa, 156 (tie)
  49. Hailey, 156 (tie)
  50. Ariana, 154 (tie)
  51. Maria, 154 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Daniel, 865 baby boys
  2. Jayden, 846
  3. Michael, 801
  4. Matthew, 778
  5. Justin, 738
  6. Joshua, 719
  7. David, 705
  8. Anthony, 664
  9. Christopher, 652
  10. Joseph, 617
  11. Ryan, 576
  12. Ethan, 524
  13. Alexander, 503
  14. Kevin, 496
  15. Jacob, 474
  16. Brandon, 463
  17. Nicholas, 458
  18. Jonathan, 452
  19. John, 448
  20. Christian, 445
  21. William, 435
  22. Andrew, 424
  23. Jason, 414
  24. James, 377
  25. Elijah, 359
  26. Angel, 357
  27. Benjamin, 350
  28. Dylan, 347
  29. Samuel, 343
  30. Aaron, 334
  31. Gabriel, 327
  32. Eric, 301 (tie)
  33. Jaden, 301 (tie)
  34. Brian, 283
  35. Jack, 282
  36. Tyler, 276
  37. Noah, 269
  38. Jordan, 265
  39. Luis, 264
  40. Sebastian, 260
  41. Jose, 249
  42. Sean, 247
  43. Adam, 243
  44. Jeremiah, 242
  45. Henry, 239
  46. Isaiah, 238
  47. Thomas, 234
  48. Xavier, 232
  49. Bryan, 230
  50. Aidan, 228 (tie)
  51. Aiden, 228 (tie)

Jayden jumped from 10th place in 2006 to 2nd place in 2007, impressively.

If all the different spellings of Jayden (e.g., Jaden, Jaiden, Jadon, Jaeden, Jaydon, Jaidyn, Jaydan, Jaydin) had been counted together, in fact, the entire name-group would have easily overtaken Daniel with a grand total of more than 1,340 baby boys.

The top baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…

Top girl namesTop boy names
Hispanic1. Ashley, 310
2. Isabella, 237
3. Emily, 220
4. Mia, 199
5. Brianna, 163		1. Jayden, 423
2. Justin, 369
3. Christopher, 338
4. Angel, 326
5. Anthony, 302
Asian1. Sophia, 151
2. Emily, 120
3. Chloe, 97
4. Tiffany, 86
5. Angela, 74		1. Ryan, 230
2. Matthew, 156
3. Daniel, 145 (tie)
4. Kevin, 145 (tie)
5. Eric, 137
White, non-Hispanic1. Sarah, 258
2. Rachel, 236
3. Sophia, 229
4. Olivia, 224
5. Ava, 214		1. Michael, 373
2. Joseph, 345
3. Daniel, 324
4. David, 269
5. Matthew, 261
Black, non-Hispanic1. Madison, 158
2. Kayla, 156
3. Jada, 108
4. Brianna, 97
5. Nevaeh, 84		1. Jayden, 311
2. Joshua, 216
3. Elijah, 185
4. Jaden, 155
5. Justin, 147

Among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC last year were the girl names Binta, Djeneba, Fraida, Rowan, and Suki, and the boy names Aditya, Karim, Milton, Shimshon, and Wolf.

One year earlier, in 2006, NYC’s top names (overall) were Ashley and Michael.

Source: Popular Baby Names – NYC.gov (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

[Latest update: Jan. 2026]