Melissa
Melissa was the 420th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 747 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1979 (34,050). Over the last ten years it has moved down 167 places. More babies were named Melissa in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning bee, honeybee · Greek
Say it muh-LIS-uh /məˈlɪsə/
- Rank in 2025
- #420 girls, down 71 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 747girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 197934,050 babies
- Total since 1880
- 762,623babies recorded
What does the name Melissa mean?
Melissa is the Greek word for "bee" or "honeybee". In Greek myth Melissa was a nymph who fed the infant Zeus with honey, as the Random House dictionary notes, and the name was used by Renaissance poets such as Ariosto. Wiktionary adds that in Ireland it has served as a feminine of Maol Íosa, "servant of Jesus". It was very popular in the US in the 1970s and 1980s.
μέλισσα (Ancient Greek, “bee, honeybee”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Mel, Missy, Melisa, Lissa.
See also: Greek names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Melissa', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Melissa', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Melissa
The usual nicknames for Melissa are Mel, Missy and Lissa. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Melissa in the last five years, 2 were named Missy, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mel · also for Amelia, Melody, Melanie | Traditional | #7,031 | 75 |
| Missy | Traditional | #5,850 | 87 |
| Lissa | Traditional | #8,651 | 62 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Melissas go by each one.
Melissa popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,495 since 1956.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #420 | 747 |
| 2020 | #349 | 887 |
| 2010 | #156 | 1,951 |
| 2000 | #71 | 4,532 |
| 1990 | #20 | 14,000 |
| 1980 | #4 | 31,629 |
| 1970 | #7 | 23,735 |
| 1960 | #109 | 4,412 |
| 1950 | #240 | 980 |
| 1940 | #716 | 95 |
| 1930 | #976 | 57 |
| 1920 | #956 | 59 |
| 1910 | #614 | 47 |
| 1900 | #536 | 40 |
| 1890 | #390 | 42 |
| 1880 | #274 | 33 |
How popular is Melissa, counting every spelling?
Melissa is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #404 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #420 for Melissa on its own. Together these spellings went to 810 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melissa | 747 | #420 | 3,976 |
| Melisa | 57 | #2,950 | 268 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Melissa?
747 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Melissa (0.21 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Melissa born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 11 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Melissa.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Melissa?
About 713,900 people born in the US named Melissa are alive today, with a median age of 47; half are between 39 and 54. That makes Melissa mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Melissa by state
How common Melissa was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (2.1×), California (2.0×), Nevada (1.8×), Washington (1.8×), Connecticut (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Melissa: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Melissa, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Melissa · Sibling names for Melissa
Questions about the name Melissa
What does Melissa mean?
Melissa means “bee, honeybee” (Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Melissa?
Melissa was the 420th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 747 babies. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1979 (34,050). Over the last ten years it has moved down 167 places. More babies were named Melissa in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Melissa a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Melissa in the US.
Where is Melissa most popular?
In 2021–2025, Melissa was most common in Massachusetts (1.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Nevada.