Larissa

Daintily pretty without being frilly, Larissa is familiar but more quietly used than its sound-alikes Melissa and Alyssa. Though this is the more common variation in the Western World, the original is actually Larisa.

And though it may sound like a typical Edwardian/Victorian appellation, Larissa was hardly heard here before 1967, which was two years after the release of the hit film Doctor Zhivago, whose heroine was Larissa, called Lara, the inspiration for the haunting 'Lara's Theme.'

In Greek mythology, Larissa (or Larisa) was a nymph who was a daughter of Pegasus and loved by Mercury. A moon of Neptune was named after the mythological figure in 1991, giving the name an astronomy connection too.

In terms of its meaning, the name likely derives from an Ancient Greek city whose name meant "citadel" or "fortress", however, other possibilities include that it comes from the Greek ilarós meaning "cheerful", from láros the Ancient Greek for gull or seamew, or from "lárix meaning "larch tree". The "citadel" meaning is generally more accepted however.

In 2023, Larissa was one of the fastest rising choices in England and Wales, and it could make an attractive yet underused choice that might appeal to parents wanting something rarer than Melissa but gentler than Clarissa.

Pronounced luh-RIS-uh.

As of October 2026, Larissa ranked #1646 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #363 in 1994, Nameberry popularity #877.