girl's name
Melissa
muh-LISS-uh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 871,283
the United States
#420
2025 births
Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter. It ranks 175th in Ireland and 420th in the United States, and it is falling.
- Melissa is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1979, when 34,179 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,438 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Melissa over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 427 |
| 1890s | 399 |
| 1900s | 323 |
| 1910s | 516 |
| 1920s | 526 |
| 1930s | 666 |
| 1940s | 2,837 |
| 1950s | 22,324 |
| 1960s | 119,509 |
| 1970s | 254,161 |
| 1980s | 218,843 |
| 1990s | 90,255 |
| 2000s | 32,697 |
| 2010s | 14,277 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,863 |
What Melissa means
Melissa means bee, from the Greek melissa, which is built on meli, honey. The insect is named for what it produces rather than for anything it does, so the name is honey at one remove.
Where Melissa comes from
Melissa comes from the Greek melissa, a bee, from meli, honey — the same root behind mellifluous. The word carried religious weight: melissai was the title of the priestesses of Demeter at Eleusis and of Artemis at Ephesus, and bees were associated with prophecy and with the Delphic oracle. In myth Melissa is a nymph who nurses the infant Zeus on honey while he is hidden from Cronus. The name entered European literature through Ariosto's Orlando Furioso in 1516, where Melissa is a benevolent sorceress, and reached English from there. Its modern American peak in the 1970s was very large — it was a top-ten name for most of that decade — and the decline since has been correspondingly steep.
Melissa in use
Melissa ranks 175th in Ireland with 27 births in 2025 and 420th in the United States with 747 births, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1979. Our records carry it from 1880. It appears in every market we hold, including 428th in France with 230 births — the pattern of a name that went international in one decade and is receding everywhere together.
How popular is Melissa?
In 2025, Melissa was given to 747 babies in the United States, ranking #420 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Melissa 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.
How Melissa is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mélissa | Mélissa is Melissa written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #428. | 65,655 |
Names that peaked alongside Melissa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Melissa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Melissa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Melissa
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.
Melissa 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 Melissa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Melissa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Melissa
What does the name Melissa mean?
Melissa means "bee," from the Greek melissa, built on meli, honey.
Were priestesses called Melissa?
Melissai was the title of the priestesses of Demeter at Eleusis and of Artemis at Ephesus.
Is Melissa related to mellifluous?
Yes — both go back to meli, honey.
How popular is Melissa?
175th in Ireland and 420th in the United States.
Is Melissa a girl's or a boy's name?
Melissa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Melissa?
Melissa has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Melissa?
Melissa is usually shortened to Mel, Lissa and Missy.
Is Melissa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Melissa currently ranks #175 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.