girl's name
Marissa
muh-RIS-uh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 128,889
Northern Ireland
#465
2011 births
Marissa is usually explained as of the sea, but that reading comes from the Latin stella maris — a title of the Virgin built on a mistranslation of Miriam that scholars abandoned centuries ago.
- Marissa is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 1994, when 6,260 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 26,954 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1936.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Marissa 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 | 5 |
| 1940s | 21 |
| 1950s | 408 |
| 1960s | 1,475 |
| 1970s | 6,151 |
| 1980s | 21,199 |
| 1990s | 51,314 |
| 2000s | 32,111 |
| 2010s | 7,423 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,005 |
What Marissa means
Marissa is usually given as of the sea, though the sea element comes from a medieval gloss on Mary rather than from any root the name actually has.
Where Marissa comes from
Marissa elaborates Maris or Marisa, Italian pet forms of Maria, and the of-the-sea reading traces to stella maris, star of the sea — a medieval Latin title for the Virgin that arose from a scribal reading of Miriam as though it contained the Hebrew for a sea. The gloss is not sound and has long been abandoned, but it produced Marissa, Marina-adjacent readings and a great deal of devotional poetry. So the name means what a mistake made it mean, which is a fair description of a good many names.
Marissa in use
Marissa peaked in the United States in 1994, when 6,260 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1674th in the United States on 123 births, 2800th in France on 10 and 3100th in England and Wales on 8, across 128,889 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it only from 1936.
How popular is Marissa?
In 2025, Marissa was given to 123 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Marissa 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 Marissa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marissa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marissa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Marissa
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Marissa 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 Marissa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marissa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marissa
What does the name Marissa mean?
Usually given as of the sea, though that reading rests on a medieval mistranslation of Miriam.
Is Marissa related to Mary?
Yes — it elaborates the Italian pet forms Maris and Marisa, from Maria.
What is stella maris?
Star of the sea, a medieval Latin title for the Virgin that arose from a misreading of the Hebrew.
How popular is Marissa?
1674th in the United States, down from a 1994 peak of 6,246 births.
Is Marissa a girl's or a boy's name?
Marissa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Marissa?
Marissa has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Marissa?
Marissa is usually shortened to Rissa.
Is Marissa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marissa currently ranks #1,400 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.