Melissa
Melissa was given to 747 girls in 2025, #420 among girls’ names; 762,623 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 716,000 Americans named Melissa and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 47 years old and half are between 39 and 54.
Melissa is the #17 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Melissa by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Melissa mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Melissa is “a female given name from Ancient Greek, popular in the latter half of the 20th century.” Its etymology gives the sense “bee, honey, or honeybee” (μέλισσα).
From Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee, honey, or honeybee”). In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name Maol Íosa (literally “servant of Jesus”).
/məˈlɪsə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Melissa?
#420 among girls’ names, 2025
Melissa fell from #253 in 2015 to #420 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.72 to 0.46 per 1,000.
34,179 babies in 1979, the peak
Melissa peaked in 1979, when 34,179 babies were given it (34,050 girls, #2 among girls’ names). The 747 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 747 | #420 | 0.46 |
| 2024 | 826 | #379 | 0.51 |
| 2023 | 744 | #411 | 0.46 |
| 2022 | 823 | #379 | 0.50 |
| 2021 | 836 | #372 | 0.51 |
| 2020 | 887 | #349 | 0.55 |
| 2019 | 933 | #340 | 0.56 |
| 2018 | 1,117 | #299 | 0.66 |
| 2017 | 1,170 | #275 | 0.68 |
| 2016 | 1,236 | #260 | 0.70 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,283 | #253 | 0.72 |
| 2014 | 1,509 | #224 | 0.84 |
| 2013 | 1,592 | #202 | 0.91 |
| 2012 | 1,772 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 2011 | 1,709 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 1,951 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 2009 | 2,338 | #137 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | 2,517 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 2007 | 2,505 | #137 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,893 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 2005 | 3,085 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 2004 | 3,339 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 2003 | 3,502 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 2002 | 3,769 | #80 | 2.1 |
| 2001 | 4,145 | #74 | 2.3 |
| 2000 | 4,532 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1999 | 4,830 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1998 | 5,354 | #59 | 3.0 |
| 1997 | 6,679 | #44 | 3.8 |
| 1996 | 7,170 | #42 | 4.1 |
| 1995 | 7,879 | #35 | 4.5 |
| 1994 | 8,795 | #31 | 4.9 |
| 1993 | 10,225 | #30 | 5.7 |
| 1992 | 11,710 | #24 | 6.4 |
| 1991 | 13,348 | #20 | 7.1 |
| 1990 | 14,000 | #20 | 7.4 |
| 1989 | 15,203 | #19 | 8.2 |
| 1988 | 16,546 | #16 | 9.3 |
| 1987 | 17,674 | #13 | 10.2 |
| 1986 | 17,667 | #12 | 10.3 |
| 1985 | 19,963 | #11 | 11.6 |
| 1984 | 21,896 | #8 | 13.0 |
| 1983 | 23,475 | #6 | 14.1 |
| 1982 | 25,864 | #5 | 15.3 |
| 1981 | 28,005 | #5 | 16.8 |
| 1980 | 31,629 | #4 | 19.1 |
| 1979 | 34,050 | #2 | 21.2 |
| 1978 | 28,327 | #2 | 18.5 |
| 1977 | 26,879 | #2 | 17.5 |
| 1976 | 25,094 | #3 | 17.1 |
| 1975 | 24,168 | #4 | 16.6 |
| 1974 | 22,166 | #7 | 15.1 |
| 1973 | 22,479 | #6 | 15.4 |
| 1972 | 22,494 | #7 | 14.8 |
| 1971 | 23,875 | #7 | 14.3 |
| 1970 | 23,735 | #7 | 13.6 |
| 1969 | 23,018 | #5 | 13.6 |
| 1968 | 21,733 | #5 | 13.2 |
| 1967 | 18,377 | #9 | 11.1 |
| 1966 | 14,254 | #22 | 8.4 |
| 1965 | 10,563 | #38 | 6.0 |
| 1964 | 8,318 | #53 | 4.4 |
| 1963 | 7,321 | #61 | 3.8 |
| 1962 | 6,306 | #68 | 3.2 |
| 1961 | 4,900 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1960 | 4,412 | #109 | 2.2 |
| 1959 | 3,627 | #127 | 1.8 |
| 1958 | 3,323 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1957 | 2,780 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1956 | 2,527 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1955 | 2,416 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 1954 | 2,062 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1953 | 2,007 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1952 | 1,442 | #201 | 0.78 |
| 1951 | 1,129 | #229 | 0.63 |
| 1950 | 980 | #240 | 0.57 |
| 1949 | 778 | #276 | 0.45 |
| 1948 | 600 | #318 | 0.35 |
| 1947 | 319 | #460 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 198 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 186 | #532 | 0.14 |
| 1944 | 177 | #542 | 0.13 |
| 1943 | 189 | #548 | 0.14 |
| 1942 | 154 | #599 | 0.11 |
| 1941 | 141 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1940 | 95 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 116 | #631 | 0.11 |
| 1938 | 85 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1937 | 90 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 56 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 63 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1934 | 43 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 51 | #968 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 62 | #896 | 0.06 |
| 1931 | 43 | #1,087 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 57 | #976 | 0.05 |
| 1929 | 42 | #1,148 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 43 | #1,173 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 44 | #1,170 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 46 | #1,126 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 55 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1924 | 53 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 50 | #1,082 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 68 | #889 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 66 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 59 | #956 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 49 | #1,034 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 63 | #909 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 54 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 64 | #854 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 67 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 52 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1913 | 47 | #772 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 42 | #776 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 31 | #785 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 47 | #614 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 33 | #702 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 27 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 38 | #611 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 22 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1905 | 30 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 24 | #719 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 35 | #553 | 0.13 |
| 1902 | 40 | #505 | 0.15 |
| 1901 | 34 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 40 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 47 | #427 | 0.20 |
| 1898 | 35 | #539 | 0.14 |
| 1897 | 35 | #495 | 0.15 |
| 1896 | 30 | #562 | 0.13 |
| 1895 | 41 | #448 | 0.18 |
| 1894 | 52 | #392 | 0.23 |
| 1893 | 53 | #372 | 0.25 |
| 1892 | 34 | #469 | 0.16 |
| 1891 | 30 | #474 | 0.16 |
| 1890 | 42 | #390 | 0.22 |
| 1889 | 46 | #355 | 0.26 |
| 1888 | 40 | #384 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 34 | #370 | 0.23 |
| 1886 | 58 | #274 | 0.40 |
| 1885 | 45 | #299 | 0.34 |
| 1884 | 48 | #279 | 0.37 |
| 1883 | 42 | #276 | 0.37 |
| 1882 | 41 | #276 | 0.38 |
| 1881 | 40 | #256 | 0.44 |
| 1880 | 33 | #274 | 0.36 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Melissa a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Melissa has been given almost only to girls: 2,495 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Melissa: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Melissa, and how old are they?
716,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 762,623 Americans ever recorded as Melissa. The median Melissa alive today is 47 years old; half are between 39 and 54.
The 2020 Census counted 675,224 people named Melissa (674,625 women and girls, 599 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 723,807 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 651 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 46,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 349,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 252,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 54,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Melissa born?
The states with the most babies named Melissa are California, Texas and New York, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 86,923 | #208 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 58,133 | #380 | 1.0× |
| New York | 56,858 | #490 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 39,033 | #548 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 38,978 | #554 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 35,078 | #433 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 29,848 | #364 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 29,091 | #722 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 23,844 | #558 | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 19,898 | #567 | 1.0× |
Where Melissa is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Melissa is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Melissa with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 796,668 babies since 1880, Melissa is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 747 of their 804 babies (93%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Melissa
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Melissa and names like it
- Compare Melissa and MelisaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sMelissa peaked in 1979.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Melissa since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Melissa: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1979The year the most babies were named Melissa.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Melissa alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with MMost given first.