Total births
760,128
Girls' name · since 1880
Melissa
760,128 babies named Melissa in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1979. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #379
- among girls today
- 760,128
- born since 1880
- 1970s
- peak decade
- 98%
- more common than other girls
Yes -- Melissa is the #379 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 760,128 recorded since 1880.
Melissa has 760,128 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #379 as of the latest data, more common than 98% of girls, busiest in the 1970s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #379 among girls today
- 760,128 born since 1880
- 1970s peak decade
- 98% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Melissa is currently the #379 girls' name in America, more common than 98% of girls - 760,128 born since 1880, peaking in the 1970s.
- #379
- among girls today
- 760,128
- born since 1880
- 1970s
- peak decade
- 98%
- more common than other girls
Melissa vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#379
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 98% of names given to girls today.
1970s
Peak decade
33% of everyone ever named Melissa was born in this single decade.
1979
Single peak year
34,050 babies were named Melissa in 1979 - its busiest year on record.
How Melissa compares
760,128 Top 0% higher than 100% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Melissa's all-time total is 1,990x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Melissa | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 760,128 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 34,050 | 48 | 19,840 |
Melissa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Melissa's full recorded timeline at 1953, 99% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 1% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1906, with just 22 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1979 peak of 34,050 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Melissa at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
1979
Current rank
#379
Active since
1880
Melissa popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1979)
- 34,050
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Melissa popularity over time - boys
2,495 total births recorded since 1956 (Melissa as boys' name)
Melissa by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1970s was Melissa's strongest decade.
253,267 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 33% of all-time use.
Melissa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 427
1880s
427 births
- 1890s 399
1890s
399 births
- 1900s 323
1900s
323 births
- 1910s 516
1910s
516 births
- 1920s 526
1920s
526 births
- 1930s 666
1930s
666 births
- 1940s 2,837
1940s
2,837 births
- 1950s 22,293
1950s
22,293 births
- 1960s
1960s
119,202 births
- 1970s
1970s
253,267 births
- 1980s
1980s
217,922 births
- 1990s 89,990
1990s
89,990 births
- 2000s 32,625
2000s
32,625 births
- 2010s 14,272
2010s
14,272 births
- 2020s 4,863
2020s
4,863 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 253,267 births (33% of all-time use).
How Melissa compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Melissa's total volume
Melissa vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Melissa by state
Where Melissa concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 86,611 | 11.4% |
| #2 | Texas | | 57,957 | 7.6% |
| #3 | New York | | 56,743 | 7.5% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 38,972 | 5.1% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 38,923 | 5.1% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 35,040 | 4.6% |
| #7 | Florida | | 29,795 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 29,076 | 3.8% |
California share of Melissa's total US births 11.4%
Even split
86,611 of 760,128 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Melissa appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Melissa? ▼
760,128 babies have been named Melissa since 1880. It currently ranks #379 among girls. The peak year was 1979 with 34,050 births.
When was Melissa most popular? ▼
Melissa was most popular in the 1970s decade with 253,267 total births. The single peak year was 1979.
Where is Melissa most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Melissa are California (86,611 births), Texas (57,957 births), New York (56,743 births).
How long has the name Melissa been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Melissa since 1880 -- 146 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Melissa? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Melanie, Melinda, Melody, Melba, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Melissa's data
- Melissa's decade-level peak was the 1970s (253,267 total births); usage has since declined to 4,863 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Melissas (86,611 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Melissa
Nearby Names Like Melissa
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Melissa
Melanie Girl
#122 262,640 births
Melinda Girl
#2099 135,822 births
Melody Girl
#91 114,914 births
Melba Girl
#11152 34,873 births
Melina Girl
#630 19,926 births
Compare Melissa side by side: Melissa vs Melanie Melissa vs Melinda Melissa vs Melody
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Melissa
Paige #378
146,734 births · Peak 2003
Mira #380
15,096 births · Peak 2025
Itzel #377
21,316 births · Peak 2005
Payton #381
60,045 births · Peak 2009
Mckenna #376
44,308 births · Peak 2002
Astrid #382
14,145 births · Peak 2024
Frances #375
595,697 births · Peak 1918
Hattie #383
105,197 births · Peak 1918
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Melissa: #379 Girls' Name - 760,128 Births, Peak 1979." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/melissa. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Melissa draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.