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Lis

#9,218 in 2025Girls' name

Short form of Elisabet

Lis has been given to 360 babies in the U.S. since 1953. In 2025 it ranked #9,218 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1961, with 13 recorded.

Babies named Lis, 2025

1 in 301,000

Lis over time, 1880–2025

Girls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Lis: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Elisabet

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Lis means

Lis is a short form of Elisabet.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Lis → Elisabet. The family’s meaning is “my God is an oath”, recorded in Finnish with the source elements ʾĕlîšeḇaʿ.

Origin, language, and formation

Lis is used in Albanian and Danish.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Elisabet and Lisa.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 360 girls were recorded with the name Lis between 1953 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 13 in 1961; its best national rank was #3,703 in 1961.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #8,224 in 2020 to #9,218 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Lis?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 301,000
11 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 146,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#9,218
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
208,901 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Lis sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 208,901 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Lis. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Liss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Lis was born before 1982 — so the typical Lis is around 43 today.

Median birth year
1982
About 43 years old
Biggest decade
1960s
23.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
40.3%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
360
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1960s — 23.1% of all recorded uses (83).

Is Lis rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+7,466
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−994
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
84.6%
Peak was 1961 (13)
Years since peak
64
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
38.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,703
1961

Lis around the world

Where Lis ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2020–2024
    #5,892
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2021–2021
    #883
    in 2021
  • France
    2018–2023
    #6,157
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1959–1959
    #625
    in 1959

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Lis by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#9,218
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 994
Best rank ever
#3,703
1961
Peak year
1961
13 that year
First recorded
1953
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
360
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Lis

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ElisAlisLissyMelisLisethKalisEilisAllisLisiaLishaLissetLissethLislLisetLisettLissaWallisDalisAnalisLiseAnelisLiselJanelisArielis

Sibling names for Lis

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Lis

Top names of 1961, Lis's peak yearThe 1960s in fullOther names that peaked in 1961Girls' names starting with LUncommon Danish Girl Names