Gender feminine | ||
Alyssa is a currently popular feminine given name with multiple origins.
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Origin
As used in western countries, the name is usually derived from the name of the flower alyssum. The name of the flower derives from the Greek roots a- ("not") and lyssum (insane); the flower was formerly thought to cure skin diseases. It shares many variants in common with the name Alice and is occasionally considered a form of that name as well.
It has been a popular name in the United States, where it ranked as the 19th most popular name given to baby girls born in 2009, having ranked among the top 100 names for girls since 1986 and among the top 20 names since 1997. In the Philippines, Alyssa could be both pronounced locally /əˈlaɪsə/ or /əˈlɪsə/ as in other Anglophone countries.
Alissa/Alisa and Elissa (Arabic: اليسار / ALA-LC: Alīssār; اليسا / Alīssā; عليسا ‘Alīssā; عليسة / ‘Alīssah) are variations of the name of Queen Elissa, the founder of Carthage, and is used in Middle Eastern countries. The name Elissa is likely a variant of the Phoenician name Elishat, meaning "wanderer".