Lanise
Feminine
Lanise is an American name of two soft syllables, built like Denise with a La- in place of the De-. Said quickly it sounds like the French l'anis, 'the anise', though no family seems to have meant the spice.
How old is the name Lanise?
Lanise first appears in US birth records in 1958 — 67 years ago. The typical Lanise alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 600 people named Lanise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lanise most popular?
Lanise peaked in 1972, reaching #2903 nationally. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Lanise
Lanise takes the soft close of Denise, the French name of the god of wine made Christian, and puts the La- of its own era in front. By coincidence the result sounds like l'anis, the French for anise, the sweet seed of pastis and old-fashioned sweets. Neither meaning belongs to it on the record; what belongs to it is its gentle, two-beat sound.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Lanise may be Denise with La- in front, or a build of its own; nothing records which. It resembles French l'anis, 'anise', but is not documented as taken from it.
Pronouncing Lanise
luh-NEES
Two syllables with the stress on the second.
Nicknames for Lanise
Limited
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
- 1958
- Most girls named
- 197422 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2903reached in 1972
- Change vs 2017
- −16.7%5 in 2020, from 6
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.
Lanises among us
people named Lanise 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
Lanise 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
- Soft and easy to say.
- Close to Denise, a name everyone knows.
- Rare, so a Lanise is unlikely to share her name.
- People will hear Denise or Lanice.
- It has no documented meaning of its own.
- It will need spelling out.
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Lanise
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Lanises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Lanise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lanise in 2025?
- Lanise is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Lanise with classmates?
- Lanise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lanise? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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