Melissa

“Bee, from Greek melissa; in Ireland sometimes servant of Jesus” — Greek; Irish Gaelic origin

Girl's name · #420 in the US (2025) · Retro

Melissa's best rank, #2, came in 1977; it has stepped well back to #420 today. Roughly 760,000 girls have been named Melissa since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Melissa's short forms are Mel, Missy, Misty, and Mellie.

Around the world: #45 in Finland (other-lang.) (2025) · #89 in Sweden (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 34 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Melissas

Melissa McCarthy — American actress and comedian
Melissa Leo — American actress
Melissa Joan Hart — American actress
Melissa Benoist — American actress and singer
Melissa Rauch — American actress, model, and comedian

In stories & tradition

Melissa — Orlando Furioso
Melissa Duck — Baby Looney Tunes
Melissa Hastings — Pretty Little Liars

What Melissas become

Among 1,597 notable people named Melissa:

Sports figures appear 1.49× more often than among typical names — e.g. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, American athlete.

Similar names: Melisa · Angela · Melanie · Daleyza · Jennifer · Elissa

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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