Alessa
Feminine · “defender of men”
Alessa is Alessandra shortened, and the Greek behind it is defender of men — the compound Alexander the Great carried across half the known world.
How old is the name Alessa?
Alessa first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Alessa is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,000 people named Alessa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alessa most popular?
Alessa peaked in 2016, reaching #1358 nationally. Today it ranks #1872, 514 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Alexandros to Alessa
The story of Alessa
Alexander's conquests spread the name from Egypt to the Indus, and it became one of the most-used in Europe. Italian made Alessandro and Alessandra, and Alessa is the everyday clipping. Italian emigration brought it to America, where it appears in the registers rising and is in current use.
Meaning
defender of men
Through Alessandra and Alexander, from the Greek alexein, 'to defend', and aner, 'man' — the genitive andros gives the second half. Both elements are ordinary Greek and the compound is undisputed. Alessa is an Italian short form.
How the name formed
- Alexandros
- Alessandra
- Alessa
Related forms: Alessa · Alessa · Alessandra
Pronouncing Alessa
uh-LESS-uh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Italian says ah-LES-sa with a crisper double s.
Nicknames for Alessa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most girls named
- 2016174 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1358reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- −13.2%105 in 2025, from 121
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alessa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alessa in Italian — same name
- Alessa in German — same name
- Alessandra in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Alessas among us
people named Alessa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,307 born in 2025 was named Alessa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rebecka test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alessa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rebecka climbed just as high around 1993, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rebecka's path sketches the road Alessa is walking now.
Alessa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alessa is headed
Alessa should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alessa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alessa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Alexander behind it has a transparent meaning and unmatched historical reach.
- Alessandra is available as a full formal version.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- Alexa and Alissa are close enough to cause constant confusion.
- It is a diminutive and stays informal in Italian.
- It is very new in American records.
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What they receive
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Alessa
Feminine · #1872 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alessas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,000 people named Alessa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alessa in 2025?
- Alessa ranks #1872 among US girl names in 2025, with 105 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alessa?
- About 1 in every 15,307 US girls born in 2025 was named Alessa — 105 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alessa with classmates?
- Alessa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alessa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rio#1872 · Aleya#1872 · Kasey#1872 · Judy#1872 · Vallie#1872 · Sidney#1872 · Karmen#1872 · Nairobi#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alessa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alessa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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