A 💻tech worker from San Francisco is named not only 📛Alysa but 📛Alysa Liu — and shares the exact same name as 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan figure 
skater 📛Alysa Liu.
As 7 On Your Side ABC News reports, "the other Alysa" is finding out: "it's not always a good thing: Liu has apparently been deemed an imposter on Instagram."
Alysa says, she's heard over the years of the young skating phenom from the East Bay who shares her name. And is admired by her fellow Gen Z members, including Alysa. "When she did win the gold medal... they'd say 'Oh, congrats on the gold.' I'd say, 'I can't take credit for that but I'm really happy for her,'" Liu tells 7 On Your Side. "I feel like more inspired to be like her and... be more positive, in the way that she is, sort of because we share this, this part of our identity, like our names," she says.
But now that Alysa Liu (the skater) has won gold, the other Alysa is getting online attention meant for the superstar. "I would get... message requests from people who are trying to contact Alysa. And not only that, but I think somehow they found my number online too. So I just text them like, 'Hey, this isn't the Alysa you're looking for,'" she explains. Fans of Alysa (the skater) have offered congratulations, asking to meet, leaving adoring voice messages like this one she played for 7 On Your Side: "We love you Alysa Liu... bye Alysa Liu, I love you."
More than fans however caught the attention of seeing the name of an Alysa Liu — Meta did too. "I logged into my account and just for some reason, it said that I had been suspended from Instagram and that I had 180 days to appeal this decision, or else I would be banned permanently," Liu shares. It ironically happened the day after the Alysa (the skater) reportedly posted a story on her own Instagram, warning of scammers creating fake accounts in her name. "I was not contacting anyone or trying to, like, pretend that I was her. My account is private. I have very clearly in my bio that I'm from New Jersey. I went to Berkeley," the other Alysa explains.
Liu says she's had that Instagram account for 15 years. "So definitely, I think her popularity and fame has, like, just exploded, very suddenly. I love her, but yeah, I think it definitely was... the impetus for, like, me getting banned from Instagram. It's like, kind of like a home base for all these really cherished memories that I have. Snapshots of my life at different points in time... And so when I thought about possibly losing it, I was really sad. The parts of sharing the name that are a little bit negative are the parts that I would not like. Like, I would like to have my Instagram account back!"
Liu filed an appeal but Meta denied it, saying her driver's license wasn't enough proof of her identity. She then contacted 7 On Your Side. 7 On Your Side told Meta that the other Alysa Liu is no imposter. A spokesperson agreed to try to restore her account. But so far, it's still in limbo.
▶Click here to watch the video via YouTube📺: Another Alysa Liu loses Instagram for sharing Olympic skater's name
🤔Just how popular is the name Alysa? 📛Nameberry🍒 says, "📛Alysa rose in the US popularity charts starting in the 1960s and continuing in some cases until the first decade of this century. The Alysa form drifted along at the bottom of the Top 1000 girls' names from about 1990 until 2005, when Olympic skating champion Alysa Liu was born." Liu was born in 📍California and that is the state where most Alysas have the name.
🤔Is Alysa pronounced A-lisa or A-lissa? 📛NB🍒 explains, "Liu herself @:8🔊pronounces her first name ah-LISS-ah, rhyming with Melissa, but this spelling might also suggest the pronunciation ah-LEES-ah, rhyming with Lisa. With Greek roots connected to the name 📛Alice (meaning 'noble' or 'truth'), Alysa's sisters and cousins include 📛Alyssa, 📛Alicia, 📛Alisa, and 📛Alissa." Click here to see all 20+ 🤯 variants of Alysa.
I like the name 📛Alysa 👌🏾 — it's safe and can be adorable — but the spelling with a 'y' instead of the 'lissa' if it's pronounced A-lissa, throws me off and I see: A-lisa or literally A-lye-sa. 😖
☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Alysa: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓/10
📌Check out my ⏪past ☔📛 post: 📄Mads World: Having The Same Name As A Celebrity
