Melissa
Top 1000
About Melissa
Melissa derives from the Greek word mélissa, meaning "bee," which was taken from the word for honey, meli. In Greek mythology, Melissa was a nymph who nursed the infant god Zeus with honey. Melissa was used as a given name by the early Greeks, as well as for fairies by Italian Renaissance poets.
Most parents today think of Melissa as one of the fashionable names during their childhoods, and indeed for years it was one of the most popular girl names starting with M. But there are still plenty of little Melissas around and Melissa is also a more classic name than you might think, used in the U.S. since the eighteenth century and originating as the name of a nymph in Greek mythology.
Melissa was the name of the good witch in Ariosto's major 1532 narrative poem Orlando Furioso. Later, it can be found in the works of a wide range of writers, including Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling and Lawrence Durrell.
Pronounced muh-LIS-uh.
As of October 2026, Melissa ranked #420 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2 in 1977, Nameberry popularity #472.
Editor's take: The name Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "honeybee".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #224 | 1,509 | 844.7 |
| 2015 | #253 | 1,283 | 718.7 |
| 2016 | #260 | 1,236 | 697.5 |
| 2017 | #275 | 1,170 | 677.7 |
| 2018 | #299 | 1,117 | 656.6 |
| 2019 | #340 | 933 | 555.9 |
| 2020 | #349 | 887 | 548.7 |
| 2021 | #372 | 836 | 509.5 |
| 2022 | #379 | 823 | 501.8 |
| 2023 | #410 | 743 | 463 |
| 2024 | #378 | 825 | 509.2 |
| 2025 | #420 | 747 | 464.8 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Melissa.
- Angela
- Amanda
- Stephanie
- Jennifer
- Samya
- Danielle
- Sher
- Andrea
- Michelle
- Christina
- Melanie
- Alicia
- Jessica
- Christine
- Sara
- Nicole
- Monica
- Tiffany
- Katrina
- Erica
Melissa on lists
Famous Melissas
- Melissa Benoist
American actress
- Melissa Fumero
American actress
- Melissa "Missy" Higgins
Australian singer and actress
- Melissa Rose "Melrose" Bickerstaff
American model
- Melissa Joan Hart
American actress
- Melissa Etheridge
American singer
- Melissa Claire Egan
American actress
- Melissa George
Australian,American actress
- Melissa Rosenberg
American actress
- Melissa Grimes
fashion designer & contestant on "Under the Gunn"
- Melissa Ordway
American actress
- Melissa Gilbert
American actress
- Melissa McCarthy
American actress
- Melissa 'Missy' Franklin
US Olympic Gold Medal swimmer
- Melissa McBride
American actress
- Melissa Sue Anderson
American actress
- Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott
American singer
- Melissa Mathison
American film & TV screenwriter
- Melissa Margaret Peterman
American actress & comedian
- Melissa Ivy Rauch
American actress & comedian
- Melissa Chessington Leo
American actress
- Melissa Lynn
L.A. stylist and fiancee of actor Jonathan Sadowski
- Melissa Trn
costume designer and wife of actor Brett Dalton
- Melissa "Missy" (Hollister) Lanning
American vlogger as part of "Daily Bumps"
- Melissa Palma Julie Tancredi
Canadian soccer player
- Melissa Susanne Henderson
American soccer player
- Melissa Marie Ortiz Matallana
Colombian football player
- Melissa Anne Barbieri
Australian soccer player
- Melissa Hooper
competitor on E! reality show "Bridalplasty"
- Melissa Ziegler
Gisoni, mother of Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler, featured on Lifetime’s “Dance Moms”
Melissa in pop culture
- Melissa Hastings
older sister of Spencer from ''Pretty Little Liars''
- Melissa Artemis
Greek dancer & prostitute in "The Alexandria Quartet"
- Melissa Norman
from the movie "Room 6"
- Melissa Nelson
from "Malicious"
- Melissa Webber
from "Packin' It In"
- Melissa Scully
character on FOX's "X,Files"
- Melissa
heroine in Barbara Cartland's book An Arrow of Love
- Melissa Gale
character in the game "Siren: Blood Curse"
- Melissa McCall
mother of Scott from MTV's "Teen Wolf"
- Melissa Lewis
commander of the Ares 3 mission in "The Martian"
- Melissa 'Oregon' Shawcross
character in TV's "Fresh Meat."
- Melissa Lycan
character in Aphmau's YouTube series
- Melissa
character in series "Yellowjackets"
Variations & nicknames
- MélisandeFrench
- MelisaSpanish
- MelissandeFrench
- MalisaSpanish