Entry № 0096 · Celtic, Greek origin

Alanis Alanis — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ ah-LAH-niss /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Celtic, Greek
Meaning
"Rock / harmony (Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill, 33M+ sold)"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 0
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "rock / harmony (alanis morissette, jagged little pill, 33m+ sold)".

Alanis is the feminine of Alan — possibly from the Celtic *ailín* ("rock, little rock") or Greek *alanos* ("harmonious") — used as a 1970s North American given name. **Alanis Morissette (born 1974)** — **Canadian-American singer-songwriter; her 1995 album *Jagged Little Pill* sold over 33 million copies worldwide — the best-selling debut album ever by a female artist at the time of its release**. **Five Grammy Awards (1996) including Album of the Year — at age 21, the youngest woman to win Album of the Year for over two decades (a record broken by Billie Eilish in 2020)**. **"You Oughta Know" (1995), "Ironic" (1995), "You Learn," "Hand in My Pocket" — Jagged Little Pill is on *Rolling Stone*'s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time**. **The Broadway musical adaptation *Jagged Little Pill* (2019) won the Tony Award for Best Score and was nominated for Best Musical**. **Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2015)**. **Alanis Mitchell** — Mythological reference. **Other Alanis** namesakes include Alanis Obomsawin — Abenaki Canadian documentary filmmaker; Order of Canada — the most-acclaimed Indigenous Canadian documentary director of the 20th century.

Featured throughout 1990s pop music history.

Rock / harmony. Jagged Little Pill sold 33 million copies — the best-selling debut album ever by a female artist.

The name in its native script.

Alanis
Transliteration
Alanis
Pronunciation
/ əˈlɑː.nɪs /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Alanis stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 0 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 0 in 0
Babies named Alanis · last year
95 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
0
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · — NOW · —

Alaniss before her.

Real people
Alanis Morissette
Canadian-American singer.
born 1974
Alanis Obomsawin
Abenaki Canadian filmmaker.
born 1932
In fiction
Alanis
Various Canadian music.

Names connected to Alanis.

The number behind Alanis.

6

The Nurturer

Alanis reduces to six — the number of Grammys.

Why families chose this name.

"Morissette's rock. Six letters. Alanis."
Catherine · Mother of one · Ottawa