Lisa
Lisa was given to 256 girls in 2025, #991 among girls’ names; 970,012 Americans have been recorded with it since 1886 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 871,000 Americans named Lisa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 51 and 63.
Lisa is the #8 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lisa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lisa mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lisa is “a female given name from Hebrew.”
Diminutive of Elisabeth in several European languages.
/ˈlisə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lisa?
#991 among girls’ names, 2025
Lisa fell from #755 in 2015 to #991 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.21 to 0.16 per 1,000.
60,448 babies in 1965, the peak
Lisa peaked in 1965, when 60,448 babies were given it (60,271 girls, #1 among girls’ names). The 256 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 256 | #991 | 0.16 |
| 2024 | 264 | #985 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 317 | #848 | 0.20 |
| 2022 | 290 | #932 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 248 | #1,026 | 0.15 |
| 2020 | 243 | #1,037 | 0.15 |
| 2019 | 277 | #955 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 308 | #878 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | 309 | #882 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 346 | #829 | 0.20 |
Every recorded year (122)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 374 | #755 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 378 | #740 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 354 | #771 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 398 | #707 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 396 | #704 | 0.23 |
| 2010 | 396 | #713 | 0.22 |
| 2009 | 420 | #693 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 510 | #603 | 0.27 |
| 2007 | 525 | #573 | 0.27 |
| 2006 | 609 | #500 | 0.32 |
| 2005 | 619 | #494 | 0.33 |
| 2004 | 710 | #427 | 0.39 |
| 2003 | 811 | #372 | 0.44 |
| 2002 | 830 | #360 | 0.46 |
| 2001 | 908 | #337 | 0.50 |
| 2000 | 1,088 | #295 | 0.60 |
| 1999 | 1,113 | #282 | 0.63 |
| 1998 | 1,364 | #230 | 0.77 |
| 1997 | 1,546 | #194 | 0.89 |
| 1996 | 1,864 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1995 | 2,236 | #144 | 1.3 |
| 1994 | 2,564 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 1993 | 3,223 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1992 | 3,781 | #88 | 2.1 |
| 1991 | 4,395 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1990 | 5,347 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 1989 | 6,573 | #55 | 3.6 |
| 1988 | 7,267 | #43 | 4.1 |
| 1987 | 7,549 | #40 | 4.3 |
| 1986 | 7,907 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1985 | 9,012 | #36 | 5.2 |
| 1984 | 10,238 | #29 | 6.1 |
| 1983 | 11,469 | #27 | 6.9 |
| 1982 | 12,637 | #23 | 7.5 |
| 1981 | 14,294 | #18 | 8.6 |
| 1980 | 15,664 | #16 | 9.4 |
| 1979 | 17,286 | #13 | 10.8 |
| 1978 | 17,033 | #11 | 11.1 |
| 1977 | 17,014 | #12 | 11.1 |
| 1976 | 17,346 | #9 | 11.8 |
| 1975 | 18,139 | #8 | 12.4 |
| 1974 | 19,778 | #8 | 13.5 |
| 1973 | 22,677 | #5 | 15.6 |
| 1972 | 27,543 | #3 | 18.1 |
| 1971 | 32,907 | #3 | 19.8 |
| 1970 | 38,967 | #2 | 22.3 |
| 1969 | 45,028 | #1 | 26.7 |
| 1968 | 49,534 | #1 | 30.2 |
| 1967 | 52,437 | #1 | 31.8 |
| 1966 | 56,918 | #1 | 33.6 |
| 1965 | 60,271 | #1 | 34.1 |
| 1964 | 54,270 | #1 | 28.6 |
| 1963 | 56,047 | #1 | 29.1 |
| 1962 | 46,069 | #1 | 23.4 |
| 1961 | 42,720 | #2 | 21.2 |
| 1960 | 33,693 | #6 | 16.7 |
| 1959 | 25,699 | #10 | 12.7 |
| 1958 | 20,202 | #19 | 10.0 |
| 1957 | 15,142 | #26 | 7.4 |
| 1956 | 11,012 | #31 | 5.5 |
| 1955 | 8,539 | #48 | 4.4 |
| 1954 | 5,913 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 1953 | 3,602 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1952 | 2,842 | #126 | 1.5 |
| 1951 | 1,698 | #177 | 0.94 |
| 1950 | 1,175 | #220 | 0.69 |
| 1949 | 596 | #318 | 0.35 |
| 1948 | 468 | #364 | 0.28 |
| 1947 | 423 | #388 | 0.24 |
| 1946 | 327 | #426 | 0.21 |
| 1945 | 250 | #451 | 0.19 |
| 1944 | 193 | #519 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 162 | #592 | 0.12 |
| 1942 | 124 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 92 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 89 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 77 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 79 | #798 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 53 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 47 | #1,016 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 31 | #1,323 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 32 | #1,277 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 21 | #1,693 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 40 | #1,141 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 28 | #1,411 | 0.03 |
| 1930 | 32 | #1,360 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 22 | #1,739 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 12 | #2,698 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 14 | #2,489 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 31 | #1,466 | 0.03 |
| 1925 | 13 | #2,706 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 23 | #1,842 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 15 | #2,415 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,437 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 17 | #2,248 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 17 | #2,220 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 14 | #2,448 | 0.01 |
| 1918 | 14 | #2,445 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 13 | #2,492 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,747 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 14 | #2,196 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 12 | #2,074 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 16 | #1,500 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,520 | 0.01 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,729 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,705 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,733 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 5 | #2,099 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 9 | #1,318 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 7 | #1,335 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,727 | 0.02 |
| 1886 | 6 | #1,048 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lisa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lisa has been given almost only to girls: 2,783 boys in 122 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lisa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lisa, and how old are they?
871,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 970,012 Americans ever recorded as Lisa. The median Lisa alive today is 58 years old; half are between 51 and 63.
The 2020 Census counted 864,260 people named Lisa (863,633 women and girls, 627 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 898,488 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 589 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 280,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 468,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 107,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 12,100 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,940 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Lisa born?
The states with the most babies named Lisa are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 95,082 | #726 | 1.0× |
| New York | 87,617 | #561 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 59,674 | #1,184 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 54,602 | #1,091 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 50,078 | #894 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 49,667 | #1,178 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 44,692 | #1,154 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 33,692 | #1,286 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 33,284 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 27,208 | #693 | 1.0× |
Where Lisa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lisa is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Lisa with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 980,045 babies since 1880, Lisa is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 256 of their 268 babies (96%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Lisa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Lisa and names like it
- Compare Lisa and LissaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sLisa peaked in 1965.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lisa since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Lisa: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1965The year the most babies were named Lisa.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Lisa alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with LMost given first.