Alanis is a modern feminine form of Alan, a Breton name of uncertain meaning that is usually explained as "little rock" or "handsome". The Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, named after her father Alan, put the name on the map with her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill. In the United States Alanis ranked number 1649 in 2000, peaked at number 1289 in 2013 and has stayed in the high 1000s and low 2000s since, ranking number 2459 in 2025 with 72 girls.