Melissa
Greek melissa, “bee,” from meli “honey.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
Greek for 'honeybee,' a nymph's name in myth and a 1970s American favorite.
Melissa appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1961 to 2004. It spent 18 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1979, when 34,050 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 2 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 419 for girls. All told, 762,623 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Melisa (19,121), Mellissa (5,625), Mellisa (4,575), Melyssa (2,023), Meliza (1,054), Melessa (502) (total births since 1880)
Explore Melissa interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 427 | No. 251 |
| 1890s | 399 | No. 370 |
| 1900s | 323 | No. 502 |
| 1910s | 516 | No. 610 |
| 1920s | 526 | No. 888 |
| 1930s | 666 | No. 628 |
| 1940s | 2,837 | No. 276 |
| 1950s | 22,293 | No. 127 |
| 1960s | 119,202 | No. 5 |
| 1970s | 253,267 | No. 2 |
| 1980s | 217,922 | No. 4 |
| 1990s | 89,990 | No. 20 |
| 2000s | 32,625 | No. 71 |
| 2010s | 14,272 | No. 156 |
| 2020s | 4,863 | No. 349 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.