girls' name ★ peaked 1994

Marissa

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,679 Trend ↓ Falling 50%

A female given name from Spanish, a contraction of Maria Lisa or Maria Luisa, though sometimes regarded as a re-interpretation of the name Melissa as a homophone in…

Rank 2025
#1,679
among girls · ↓184 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
123
named Marissa · -16% vs 2024
How common
1 in 13,067
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1994
6,260 babies
All-time total
121,112
#325 all-time among girls
First recorded
1936
in Social Security records

Marissa popularity over time

121,112 babies have been named Marissa since 1936, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 5 – 5 1 – #4,624
1940s 21 – 21 2 +320% #4,269
1950s 408 – 408 41 +1843% #1,110
1960s 1,475 – 1,475 148 +262% #622
1970s 6,122 29 6,151 615 +317% #194
1980s 21,101 98 21,199 2,120 +245% #81
1990s 51,214 100 51,314 5,131 +142% #53
2000s 32,068 43 32,111 3,211 -37% #78
2010s 7,423 – 7,423 742 -77% #202
2020s (to 2025) 1,005 – 1,005 168 -77% #1,083

Where Marissa is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 110 0.07 outside top 500
2027 100 0.06 outside top 500
2028 92 0.06 outside top 500
2029 86 0.05 outside top 500
2030 81 0.05 outside top 500

Where Marissa is most popular

Girls named Marissa per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.096 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, Arizona, and California.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Marissa born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 123 0.153 +60%
Arizona 21 0.150 +56%
California 119 0.142 +48%
Illinois 28 0.122 +28%
Florida 49 0.115 +20%
New York 40 0.101 +5%
Michigan 14 0.077 -20%
Tennessee 12 0.076 -21%
New Jersey 13 0.072 -25%
Pennsylvania 17 0.072 -25%
Ohio 17 0.072 -25%
Maryland 7 0.066 -31%
South Carolina 5 0.056 -42%
Minnesota 6 0.056 -42%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -49%
Washington 6 0.042 -57%
Georgia 8 0.035 -63%
North Carolina 6 0.026 -72%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Marissa

Marissa is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,679 in 2025 with 123 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1936, 121,112 American babies have been named Marissa. Its peak came in 1994, when 6,260 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Marissa stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Marissa?

The median living Marissa is about 29 years old; half are between 23 and 35. An estimated 119 thousand people named Marissa are alive in the United States today.

median 29 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Marissa year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 123 #1,679 – –
2024 146 #1,495 – –
2023 138 #1,547 – –
2022 180 #1,313 – –
2021 190 #1,241 – –
2020 228 #1,083 – –
2019 307 #877 – –
2018 306 #886 – –
2017 433 #678 – –
2016 507 #597 – –
2015 583 #536 – –
2014 683 #466 – –
2013 820 #377 – –
2012 1,007 #320 – –
2011 1,245 #257 – –
2010 1,532 #202 – –
2009 1,796 #183 – –
2008 2,174 #155 6 #12,031
2007 2,622 #132 – –
2006 3,163 #104 – –
2005 3,592 #91 – –
2004 4,009 #78 16 #5,165
2003 3,517 #95 7 #9,276
2002 3,317 #99 – –
2001 3,853 #79 6 #10,074
2000 4,025 #78 8 #7,927
1995 6,081 #53 13 #4,700
1990 3,806 #87 21 #3,022
1985 1,890 #152 19 #2,663
1980 1,403 #193 – –
1975 381 #484 6 #5,208
1970 263 #631 – –
1965 114 #964 – –
1960 92 #1,134 – –
1955 39 #1,657 – –
1950 7 #4,585 – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Marissa

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Marissa Mayer Marissa Mayer American business executive and engineer, former CEO of Yahoo! b. 1975 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Marissa Jaret Winokur Marissa Jaret Winokur American actress b. 1973 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Marissa, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Marissa?

The median living Marissa is about 29 years old. Half of all living Marissas are between 23 and 35 years old.

How many people named Marissa are alive today?

An estimated 119 thousand people named Marissa are alive in the United States, based on 121,112 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Marissa mean?

A female given name from Spanish, a contraction of Maria Lisa or Maria Luisa, though sometimes regarded as a re-interpretation of the name Melissa as a homophone in another European language.

How popular is the name Marissa in 2025?

Marissa ranked #1,679 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 123 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Marissa?

121,112 babies have been named Marissa in the United States since 1936, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Marissa most popular?

Marissa peaked in 1994, when 6,260 newborns received the name.

Is Marissa a boy or girl name?

Marissa is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Marissa rising or falling?

Marissa is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Marissa become more popular?

Marissa is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 81 girls named Marissa in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Marissa?

Well-known people named Marissa include Marissa Mayer (businessperson), Marissa Jaret Winokur (actor).

Names like Marissa

Names that sound and feel close to Marissa: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Marissa with similar names → More names starting with M →