girl's name
Marisa
muh-REE-suh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 52,119
Scotland
#856
2014 births
Marisa is a blend rather than an inherited name — Italian joined Maria to Luisa, and the result reads as though it means sea, which it does not, since Maria's own meaning is unsettled.
- Marisa is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 1995, when 2,198 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 132,626 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1934.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Marisa over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 17 |
| 1940s | 43 |
| 1950s | 1,315 |
| 1960s | 3,432 |
| 1970s | 8,350 |
| 1980s | 10,388 |
| 1990s | 15,544 |
| 2000s | 7,778 |
| 2010s | 1,653 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 253 |
What Marisa means
Marisa joins Maria to Luisa. Maria's own meaning has never been established, so the compound cannot be translated with any confidence despite looking as though it should be.
Where Marisa comes from
Marisa is an Italian blend of Maria and Luisa, formed in the same way as Marianna and Marilena. The apparent sea reading, from the Latin mare, is a coincidence of sound rather than a derivation. Maria descends from the Hebrew Miriam, for which bitter, beloved and rebellious have all been proposed and none established; Luisa is the Germanic Hludwig, famous in battle, which gives Louis and Ludwig.
Marisa in use
Marisa peaked in the United States in 1995, when 2,198 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 3130th in England and Wales on 8 births and 5122nd in the United States on 25, across 52,119 lifetime births in three of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1934, so the whole of its history is twentieth-century and later.
How popular is Marisa?
In 2025, Marisa was given to 25 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Marisa is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marisa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marisa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marisa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Marisa in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Marisa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marisa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marisa
What does the name Marisa mean?
It blends Maria and Luisa. Maria's own meaning is unsettled, so the compound is only half translatable.
Does it mean sea?
No. The resemblance to the Latin mare is coincidental.
What does Luisa mean?
Famous in battle — the Germanic Hludwig, which also gives Louis and Ludwig.
How popular is Marisa?
5122nd in the United States, down from a 1995 peak of 2,198 births.
Is Marisa a girl's or a boy's name?
Marisa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Marisa?
Marisa has 3 syllables.
Is Marisa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marisa currently ranks #2,297 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.