Fun Facts About the Name Alys
- More than 1 thousand babies named Alys: U.S. records list 1,359 babies given the name Alys from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Alys Mean?
Alys is a variant of Alice and carries the meaning most often given as "of noble kind" or "noble type." Its line runs back through Old French Aalis and Aliz to the Germanic name Adalhaidis (the ancestor also of Adelaide and Adelheid). That Germanic name joins adal, meaning "noble," with heit or heid, meaning "kind, sort, or type." The literal sense is therefore something like "noble sort" or "of noble stock," which is customarily shortened in name dictionaries to "noble." Alys is not a separate root but one of the spellings that the Alice name took, so its meaning is the meaning of Alice rather than an independent coinage.
Alys Name History & Origins
Alys belongs to the large family of spellings of Alice. The name entered western Europe through the Germanic Adalhaidis, which was shortened in medieval French to forms such as Aalis and Aliz. Norman French carried those forms to England after the Norman Conquest, and in Middle English the name was written in many ways, among them Alys, Ales, and Alice. The spelling Alys is thus an old English written form of Alice, not a modern invention; the modern standard spelling Alice became fixed only gradually.
Alys is also the customary Welsh form of Alice. Welsh writers and translators have used it as the equivalent of the English name, and it appears in Welsh-language contexts alongside names such as Alis. The medieval diminutive Alison grew out of the same French forms of the name, showing how widely the root spread in Britain. Saint Adelaide, a tenth-century empress, and the general medieval popularity of the Adelaide/Alice name group helped keep the name in use, though the precise path by which each spelling spread is not fully documented.
How Popular is the Name Alys?
Alys recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1920. Its best rank was #840 in 1880.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,885 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 2024 | #5,145 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2023 | #4,662 | 29 | 0.0018% |
| 2022 | #7,650 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #5,965 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2020 | #8,978 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #10,533 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #7,782 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #6,822 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #12,974 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #7,291 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #7,668 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #11,071 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #6,887 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2011 | #7,133 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2010 | #9,827 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #11,512 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #11,659 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #11,680 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #13,683 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #7,919 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2004 | #9,934 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #9,517 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #13,600 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #9,198 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #14,243 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #13,834 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #9,621 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #13,496 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #7,628 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #8,753 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #6,603 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #11,460 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #5,055 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1988 | #4,848 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1987 | #7,375 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #7,147 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #7,583 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #7,418 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #6,734 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #10,437 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #7,332 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #6,059 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1975 | #4,864 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #8,818 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #6,684 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #6,581 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #7,408 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #4,765 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #5,990 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #7,037 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #4,994 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #4,502 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #4,504 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #5,484 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #5,902 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #5,870 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #5,320 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #5,716 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #5,046 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #3,927 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1957 | #5,389 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #3,188 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1955 | #5,850 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #3,492 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1953 | #4,241 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #3,813 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1951 | #2,940 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1950 | #4,336 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #3,396 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #4,666 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1947 | #4,357 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #3,433 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1945 | #4,580 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #2,294 | 15 | 0.0011% |
| 1942 | #2,672 | 12 | 0.0009% |
| 1941 | #3,575 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #2,426 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #2,747 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1938 | #2,450 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1937 | #2,949 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1936 | #2,865 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1934 | #2,574 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1933 | #2,544 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1932 | #2,369 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1931 | #2,756 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1930 | #2,427 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1929 | #2,307 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1928 | #2,772 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1927 | #1,888 | 21 | 0.0018% |
| 1926 | #2,003 | 19 | 0.0016% |
| 1925 | #2,623 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1924 | #1,726 | 25 | 0.0020% |
| 1923 | #1,638 | 26 | 0.0022% |
| 1922 | #2,189 | 17 | 0.0014% |
| 1921 | #1,767 | 24 | 0.0019% |
| 1920 | #1,512 | 29 | 0.0024% |
| 1919 | #2,645 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1918 | #1,571 | 26 | 0.0022% |
| 1917 | #1,553 | 24 | 0.0022% |
| 1916 | #1,951 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1915 | #1,743 | 19 | 0.0019% |
| 1914 | #1,542 | 18 | 0.0024% |
| 1913 | #1,406 | 17 | 0.0027% |
| 1912 | #1,623 | 12 | 0.0022% |
| 1911 | #2,201 | 6 | 0.0014% |
| 1910 | #998 | 19 | 0.0048% |
| 1909 | #1,971 | 6 | 0.0017% |
| 1908 | #1,006 | 16 | 0.0048% |
| 1907 | #1,834 | 6 | 0.0019% |
| 1906 | #1,154 | 11 | 0.0037% |
| 1903 | #1,444 | 7 | 0.0027% |
| 1902 | #1,448 | 7 | 0.0027% |
| 1900 | #1,569 | 7 | 0.0023% |
| 1898 | #1,511 | 6 | 0.0023% |
| 1897 | #1,562 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1894 | #1,138 | 8 | 0.0036% |
| 1890 | #1,103 | 7 | 0.0037% |
| 1888 | #1,140 | 6 | 0.0034% |
| 1880 | #840 | 5 | 0.0055% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Alys Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Alys's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Alys's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.