How popular is the name Lisa?

Lisa ranks 20th among girls' names in US records, with 981,213 births since 1886. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,976.

Is Lisa a unisex name?

No. Lisa is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

1965, when 60,968 children were given the name. It has been in use for 139 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Lesa. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Girl name#20 of girl names

Pronounced L IY1 S AH0 (ARPABET)

Lisa is a girls' name, and first appears in 1886. It has been given to 981,213 children — the 20th most common girls' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 36% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1965, when 60,968 children were given it.

Lesa is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

1965Girls: 60,968Boys: 177

These spellings sound identical to Lisa and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Lisa?: Lisa ranks 20th among girls' names in US records, with 981,213 births since 1886. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,976.
Is Lisa a unisex name?: No. Lisa is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Lisa most popular?: 1965, when 60,968 children were given the name. It has been in use for 139 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Lisa spelled?: Lesa. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.