About Alyce
Alyce is an English spelling variant of Alice, a name rooted in the Germanic idea of nobility. Its y changes the written form while preserving the familiar AL-iss pronunciation. Psychiatrist and teacher Alyce Chenault Gullattee gives this spelling a substantial connection with medicine, education, and community service.
Meaning and older forms
Alice developed from Old French Aalis, a shortened form of Adelais, which in turn came from Germanic Adalheidis. The elements mean “noble” and “kind” or “type,” giving the sense of nobility or noble kind.
Adelaide comes from the same older name. Alice and Alyce reached their shorter shape through French forms, while Adelaide preserves more of the length of Adalheidis.
Alice became popular in France and England during the twelfth century and remained common in England for several centuries. After a decline, it was revived in the nineteenth century. Alyce belongs to this older name family while having its own spelling history.
Alys and Alicia are other related comparisons. They keep different portions of the earlier forms, illustrating the range of shapes within the same family.
Pronunciation and spelling
Alyce is pronounced AL-iss in English, with two syllables and stress on the first. The y represents the short vowel heard in the second syllable of Alice.
The spelling therefore preserves the sound of Alice closely. Its distinctive feature is visual: the familiar name is written with a y while retaining the final ce.
Alyce Chenault Gullattee
Alyce Chenault Gullattee earned a degree in zoology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1956 and her medical degree at Howard University in 1964. She served as president of her medical-school class.
After residency training, she joined Howard’s faculty in 1970 in neuropsychiatry. Her work included directing the university’s Institute on Drug Abuse and Addiction, combining clinical care with the education of future physicians.
Her community responsibilities extended beyond the university. She consulted during the Attica prison uprising in 1971 and later led Washington, D.C.’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Administration.
Accounts of her work emphasize direct involvement with people needing care, alongside institutional leadership. Her career connects Alyce with a physician who taught, treated patients, and worked on the public responsibilities of medicine.
The name’s medical association is attached to this exact spelling, which appeared throughout Gullattee’s professional life.
American popularity
Alyce’s highest annual birth count for girls in the United States was 503 in 1921, when it ranked #293. It was recorded for thirty-five girls in 2000 and fifty-six in 2010.
In 2025, thirty-eight girls received the spelling and it ranked #3,833. Its largest American counts belong to the early twentieth century.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Existing Wiktionary material is attributed under CC BY-SA 4.0 where applicable. Popularity figures use the local Social Security Administration exact-spelling series; counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.
How popular is Alyce?
In 2025, Alyce ranked #3,833 among girls in the United States, with 38 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 503 in 1921. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.