Baby name

Melissa

Girl

Origin of the name

Melissa comes from the Latin Melissa, from the ancient Greek melissa, “bee.”

Short-lived name

1979 was its best year: 34,050 births, or 1 baby in 98. The decline was steep: births are now 98% below the peak. Its rank in 2025: No. 419. 33% of all babies named Melissa since 1880 were born in the 1970s.

760,128births since 1880

1970sgeneration

No. 2rank at its peak, in 1979

Where babies named Melissa are born

1979

Year shown on the map

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The darker the blue, the more common Melissa is in the state, compared with its births. White: no births published that year.

Where it is most popular

Compared with the national average, Melissa is most common in Rhode Island (1.4 times), New Hampshire (1.4) and Vermont (1.3), taking into account all births in each state since 1910.

One letter apart

Melisa 19,111
Elissa 18,033
Malissa 8,866
Mellissa 5,625
Merissa 3,412
Milissa 3,003

Names from the same era

Rebecca · Amy · Kelly · Andrea · Sara · Sarah

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