Girl name#34 of girl names
Melissa
Pronounced M AH0 L IH1 S AH0 (ARPABET)
- 3 syllables
- Peaked 1979
- 145 years in use
How popular is Melissa?
Melissa is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 767,652 children — the 34th most common girls' name on record.
It is falling away, down 55% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1979, when 34,322 children were given it.
Characteristics
- 3 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- M AH0 L IH1 S AH0
- Stress pattern:
- 010
- Syllables:
- 3
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Melissa
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Melissa
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Melissa?
- Melissa ranks 34th among girls' names in US records, with 767,652 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 9,866.
- Is Melissa a unisex name?
- No. Melissa is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Melissa most popular?
- 1979, when 34,322 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.