Jolissa
A feminine name likely derived from a combination of Jolene and Melissa.
Name Census estimates that about 403 living Americans carry the first name Jolissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jolissa today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jolissa births was 1988 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jolissa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
403
~ 1 in 850,507 Americans
Peak year
1988
21 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,644
Tracked since 1979
Census
Jolissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 364 people with the first name Jolissa, which placed it at #25,851 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,851
National first-name rank
People counted
364
364 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jolissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jolissa is Hispanic at 45.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Black (18.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jolissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jolissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.6% · 166
- White27.5% · 100
- Black or African American18.7% · 68
- Two or more races4.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.3% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Popularity
Jolissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jolissa from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jolissa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jolissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jolissas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jolissa
The name Jolissa has its origins in the Spanish language, deriving from the combination of the names Joli, a French variation of the name Jolene, meaning "pretty," and Lisa, a shortened form of the name Elizabeth, which has Hebrew roots and means "consecrated to God." This blend of French and Hebrew elements reflects the cultural influences that shaped the name's development.
Jolissa's earliest recorded use dates back to the late 19th century in Spain, where it was adopted as a feminine name. Its popularity spread throughout the Spanish-speaking world, particularly in Latin American countries. While the name lacks direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its components carry rich cultural significance.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name Jolissa was Jolissa Irizarry, a Puerto Rican actress and model born in 1973. She gained recognition for her roles in various Spanish-language television series and films. Another prominent figure was Jolissa Castellanos, a Nicaraguan journalist and writer born in 1957, known for her work in promoting human rights and social justice.
In the world of sports, Jolissa Fuentes, a Mexican softball player born in 1985, represented her country at multiple international competitions, including the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Additionally, Jolissa Chavez, an American artist and illustrator born in 1979, gained acclaim for her vibrant and whimsical artwork, which often explored themes of identity and cultural diversity.
Lastly, Jolissa Munoz, a Colombian singer-songwriter born in 1992, has made a name for herself in the Latin music industry, blending traditional genres with contemporary influences. Her soulful vocals and poetic lyrics have resonated with audiences across Latin America and beyond.
While the name Jolissa may have had a relatively recent emergence, its unique blend of linguistic and cultural elements has contributed to its distinctive character and appeal, making it a notable addition to the tapestry of given names across the globe.
People
Jolissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jolissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jolissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jolissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 403 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jolissa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 850,507 US residents.
Is Jolissa a common name?
We classify Jolissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jolissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Jolissa was 1988, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jolissa is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jolissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 364 people with the name Jolissa, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,851 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jolissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jolissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jolissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 362 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jolissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jolissa is Hispanic at 45.6%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Black (18.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jolissa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jolissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (166 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jolissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jolissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jolissa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jolissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jolissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jolissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Jolissa?
Want to know how many Americans are named Jolissa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.