Ilyssa
Feminine
Ilyssa sits between two names that sound almost identical and come from different places, and the record does not say which one a family meant. The middle of it is shared with a small garden flower whose name is a medical claim.
How old is the name Ilyssa?
Ilyssa first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Ilyssa alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 800 people named Ilyssa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ilyssa most popular?
Ilyssa peaked in 2004, reaching #3566 nationally. See the whole 2004 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ilyssa
Alyssum is a low white-flowered plant that spreads over walls and rockeries, and its name is a small Greek sentence. Lyssa was the word for rage, and specifically for the madness of a rabid animal; the Greeks personified it as a goddess of frenzy. Put an a in front, meaning without, and you get a plant that is against rage, which is what ancient and medieval herbals claimed for it: alyssum was held to cure the bite of a mad dog. It did not, and the belief lasted anyway, in the way medical beliefs do when the disease is terrifying and the treatment is harmless. The flower kept the name after the claim was abandoned, which is how most plant names work.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Alyssa is usually connected to the flower or treated as a modern build on Alice; Elissa is a classical name from a different tradition entirely. This spelling could descend from either and nothing in the record distinguishes them.
Pronouncing Ilyssa
ih-LISS-uh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. ih-LYE-suh is occasionally heard from readers meeting it cold.
Nicknames for Ilyssa
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
- 1965
- Most girls named
- 200441 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3566reached in 2004
- Change vs 2020
- +20.0%6 in 2021, from 5
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.
Ilyssa in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Ilyssas among us
people named Ilyssa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ilyssa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The sound is entirely familiar, so it is rarely a puzzle to say.
- Three syllables with a clear middle stress carry well and are easy to remember.
- The opening letter makes it visually distinct from a very common name, which is the point of it.
- Alyssa, Elissa and Ilissa are all in the record, so the spelling will be checked back with you constantly.
- Two candidate parents give two completely different answers to the meaning question.
- No origin is documented for this form, so there is nothing settled to say when the question comes up.
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Ilyssa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ilyssas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Ilyssa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ilyssa in 2025?
- Ilyssa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ilyssa with classmates?
- Ilyssa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More I names
The most-given names starting with I, all years combined.
Isabella#7 · Irene#651 · Ida#1120 · Isabel#176 · Isabelle#166 · Iris#61 · Ivy#39 · Irma#3167
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ilyssa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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