How Many People Are Named Melissa?
An estimated 690,697 people in the United States have the first name Melissa. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #52 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 45 years old, and Melissa peaked in popularity in 1979 with 34,179 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Stephen (680,609).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Melissa as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Melissa paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Melissa is overwhelmingly female, 2,495 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Melissa has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
690,697
About 1 in 496 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
45
years old
Peak Year
1979
34,179 births
Total Registered
761,881
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Melissa
Melissa is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 761,881 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Melissa as a male name
Ranked #13,380 in 2015
5 male births in 2015
Peak: 1980 (138 births)
Melissa as a female name
Ranked #378 in 2024
825 female births in 2024
Peak: 1979 (34,050 births)
Melissa: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Melissa span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 254,162 babies were registered. Melissa has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Melissa by Decade
How has Melissa tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 427 | 0 | 427 | |
| 1890s | 399 | 0 | 399 | |
| 1900s | 323 | 0 | 323 | |
| 1910s | 516 | 0 | 516 | |
| 1920s | 526 | 0 | 526 | |
| 1930s | 666 | 0 | 666 | |
| 1940s | 2,838 | 0 | 2,838 | |
| 1950s | 22,324 | 31 | 22,293 | |
| 1960s | 119,509 | 307 | 119,202 | |
| 1970s | 254,162 | 894 | 253,268 | |
| 1980s | 218,850 | 921 | 217,929 | |
| 1990s | 90,254 | 265 | 89,989 | |
| 2000s | 32,696 | 72 | 32,624 | |
| 2010s | 14,277 | 5 | 14,272 | |
| 2020s | 4,114 | 0 | 4,114 | |
Melissa by State
Birth registrations for Melissa span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 14,837 Melissas were registered per state.
Melissa + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Melissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Melissa
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Melissa: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melissa?
We estimate approximately 690,697 people named Melissa are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 496 Americans share this first name.
Is Melissa a common name?
Melissa is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 761,881 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Melissa most popular?
Melissa reached peak popularity in 1979, when 34,179 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Melissa is approximately 45 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Melissa a female name?
Melissa is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Melissa Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Melissa Smith, Melissa Johnson, Melissa Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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