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Is ありす, or a name pronounced the same as "ありす", a traditional feminine given name? (If I have to define traditional, then pre-dating the end of the Sakoku policy)

I've heard about parents naming their girls ありす because they like the foreign name "Alice", but does the name actually pre-date the event of Japanese knowing the word "Alice"?

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    I don't think it's a traditional Japanese name. かなり新しいと思います。西洋の名前のAliceを真似したんだと思います。 – user1016 Dec 27 '13 at 6:27
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    All one could do is speculate. There may or may not have been a period when some women were actually named ありす before Sakoku. It is certainly a possible sound combination for a Japanese name. Thing is first names change faster and more drastically in Japan than in many other countries. Many of us are not named like our parents and many of our chidren are not named like us. That is Japan. – l'électeur Dec 30 '13 at 0:59
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    I do not think it is a "traditional name". However note that you can find the sounds ありす in some traditional names such as 有栖川 – wip Jan 3 '14 at 14:50
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    There's ありさ name by the way. Not sure if it is very traditional but definitely popular. – Rilakkuma Sep 4 '14 at 5:48
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There seems to be prior occurrence of ありす as part of a traditional Japanese surname, amongst other names. ありす can be the common Japanese female given name 有栖 (Arisu), which most likely comes is derived from Japanese Imperial branch family surname surname 有栖川 (Arisugawa).

As a somewhat ironic side note, the English name Alice, a name derived from Old French and Germanic, means "noble/nobility."

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It's not a traditional name. Originates from English and French. Contrast this with Chisato 千里 for example, which is Japanese. To say Alice ありす is Japanese would be similar to saying the croissant is Japanese.

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  • Proof for the downvoter. ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9 – Jon Jan 8 '14 at 3:13
  • The Wikipedia link (a disambiguation page) doesn't have any citations. – Andrew Grimm Jan 27 '14 at 11:37
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    This answer is correct. Although some parents may name their daughters ありす today, it is definitely not native to Japanese language. – CookieMonster Jul 29 '14 at 6:53
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    This answer is about the name "Alice", not about 「ありす」. – l'électeur Sep 4 '14 at 5:20
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    @Jon could you edit the evidence in rather than commenting it? – Tim Jan 9 '15 at 17:27

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