Melissa

What Melissa means

Means “bee, honey, or honeybee”

From Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee, honey, or honeybee”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Melissa” (revision 93632416), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Melissa?

US: Falling: down from #253 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #224 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1979, when 34,050 girls got the name (#2 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,152 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,862 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,982 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (1.3 per 1,000 girls), MA (1.25 per 1,000 girls), CA (0.99 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Melissa is #419 in the US and #321 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Melissa were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Melisa57 US · 47 E&W
• Malissa8 US
• Meliza6 US
• Mellisa0 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Melissa

Girls

• Christina#770Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 16,600 babies; 352 in 2025
• Nicole#382Form of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*
• Cassandra#630Editor’s note Down from #512 in 2015 to #630 in 2025 in the US
• Teresa#908Editor’s note Down from #664 in 2015 to #908 in 2025 in the US
• Veronica#427Form of Berenice, meaning “bringer of victory”^*

For a brother

• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*
• Gregory#593“watchful, vigilant”^*
• Steven#271“crown, wreath”^*
• Stephen#383“crown, wreath”^*
• Dennis#707“follower of (the wine god) Dionysus”^*
• Phillip#651Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 6,047 babies; 425 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Melissa’s. Rank is US 2025.