NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Alisa

A feminine diminutive of Alice, from the German form of the French Alix.

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Alisa is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Alisa popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #708, with 53 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 79 births.

This profile covers 1,303 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 67% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,379 living people in the UK are called Alisa. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Alisa ranked #708 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 53 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2015, when 79 girls were registered as Alisa.
  • Alisa ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #424 in 2019.
  • About 1,379 living people in the UK are estimated to have Alisa as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#708

2024

Births in 2024

53

Latest year

Peak year

2015

79 births

Estimated living

1,379

2026

Meaning

What does Alisa mean?

The name Alisa has its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the Old Germanic name Adalheid, which meant "noble kind" or "noble sort." This name was a compound of the words "adal" (noble) and "heid" (kind or sort). Over time, the name evolved through various linguistic changes and regional variations.

In the Russian and Slavic cultures, the name Alisa became popular as a form of the name Alice, which itself is a variant of the Old French name Alis, derived from the Germanic Adalheid. The name Alisa gained widespread usage in these regions, particularly in Russia, Ukraine, and other Slavic countries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alisa can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "The Lay of Alisis" (also known as "Alisis and Garins"), which tells the story of a fictional princess named Alisa. This work, written in Old French, is considered one of the earliest examples of the name's usage in literature.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Alisa. One of the most famous was Alisa Freyndlikh, a renowned Soviet and Russian actress born in 1934, known for her roles in films such as "Office Romance" and "Stalker." Another prominent figure was Alisa Rosenbaum, better known as Ayn Rand (1905-1982), the influential Russian-American writer and philosopher, famous for her novels "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged."

In the world of literature, Alisa Ganieva (born 1985) is a contemporary Russian writer and journalist, best known for her novel "The Mountain and the Wall." Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum (1905-1975), a Soviet writer and literary critic, was also an influential figure in her time.

Alisa Izergina (born 1994) is a Russian singer and songwriter who rose to fame after her participation in the television talent show "Voice Kids Russia" in 2014. She has since released several successful albums and singles.

While the name Alisa has its roots in Germanic and Old French origins, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions, particularly in the Slavic countries, where it has a strong historical presence and cultural significance.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Alisa over time

The chart below shows babies named Alisa registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Alisa, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 53 births in 2024, compared with 79 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Alisa
020405979199620102024

Decades

Alisa by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Alisa was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #652 291 5
2010s #641 644 10
2000s #942 295 10
1990s #1091 73 4

Geography

Where Alisa is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Alisa. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Alisa ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #424 in 2019.

Northern Ireland
3
Scotland
3

Across the UK

Alisa in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#749 in 2023

20 years of NRS records, 72 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#424 in 2019

3 years of NISRA records, 11 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Alisa

  • Alisa Saltykova

    actor; singer

    1987-

  • Alisa Williams

    visual artist

    1972-

Related

Names similar to Alisa

FAQ

Alisa: questions and answers

How popular is the name Alisa in the UK right now?

In 2024, Alisa was ranked #708 for girls in England and Wales, with 53 births registered.

When was Alisa most popular?

The peak year on record was 2015, with 79 babies registered as Alisa in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Alisa?

A feminine diminutive of Alice, from the German form of the French Alix.

How many people are called Alisa in the UK?

A total of 1,303 babies have been registered as Alisa across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 72 more in Scotland and 11 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Alisa most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Alisa ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #424 in 2019. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.