Alys

Alys is the medieval Welsh form of Alice, derived from the Old French 'Aalis,' a contraction of the Germanic name 'Adalheidis' — composed of 'adal' (noble) and 'heid' (kind, sort, type), meaning 'of noble kind.' Norman French brought the name to Britain after 1066, where it became enormously popular in the medieval period in forms including Alice, Alys, Aeleis, and Aaliz. The Welsh spelling 'Alys' preserves a medieval authenticity that the standard 'Alice' has somewhat lost, and it has been consistently used in Wales for centuries.

Alice surged back into popularity in the English-speaking world in the 2010s, driven by Victorian revival trends, the enduring cultural presence of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and the taste for vintage names. The specifically Welsh spelling 'Alys' has gained attention as parents seek spellings that feel both distinctive and historically grounded. In Wales itself, Alys has remained steadily used throughout the modern era.

In Welsh culture, Alys is simply the natural Welsh form of a beloved name — not an affectation but an authentic spelling with centuries of local use. Alice/Alys was one of the most common women's names in medieval Britain and appears in Arthurian literature, Chaucer, and Welsh poetry. In Welsh mythology and Arthurian legend (which has deep Welsh roots), female characters often bore names in this form.