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I like Alyssa. It makes me think of alyssum flowers, which have my favorite of all flower fragrances. It's modest and pretty. The first time I saw it used was when a neighbor named her baby Alyssa in 1980. It seemed sort of trendy, but it's not trying too hard to be anything IMO - it was just a fresher alternative to Melissa and Alicia. I guess it has the same slightly "downmarket" image as, say, Jasmine - maybe a tad "whiter?" - but slightly "downmarket" does not really bother me and I would be willing to use Alyssa for a daughter if my husband rejected all of the names I like more.

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I don't care for Alissa much, because to me the flower association is crucial to the appeal of Alyssa. And I don't like Alisa because it's too much like Lisa. Lisa is a name I really don't like. I have met a lot of Lisas, and liked 0 of them that I can recall.

This message was edited 6/19/2012, 8:20 PM