Lorissa
A feminine name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,183 living Americans carry the first name Lorissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lorissa today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorissa births was 1994 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorissa. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lorissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 289,733 Americans
Peak year
1994
49 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,708
Tracked since 1965
Census
Lorissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,153 people with the first name Lorissa, which placed it at #11,241 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
#11,241
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorissa is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.9%) and Black (8.6%). 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 Lorissa 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 Lorissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 667
- Hispanic or Latino23.9% · 275
- Black or African American8.6% · 99
- Two or more races4.8% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 25
Popularity
Lorissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorissa from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 400 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorissa 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 Lorissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lorissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Lorissa, while Arizona, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorissa
The name Lorissa has its roots in the ancient Greek language, originating from the word "loros," which means "bay laurel." The bay laurel was a plant revered in Greek mythology, often associated with victory, honor, and the pursuit of knowledge.
In the early days of ancient Greece, the name Lorissa was primarily used as a feminine form, bestowed upon girls born into families with a deep appreciation for culture, wisdom, and the arts. It carried a sense of refinement and intellectual curiosity.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Lorissa can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who lived from 428 BC to 348 BC. In his renowned work, "The Republic," he makes reference to a character named Lorissa, a young student of philosophy.
Throughout the centuries, the name Lorissa has been borne by several notable figures in various fields. One such individual was Lorissa of Crete, a renowned poet and scholar who lived during the 5th century BC. Her work, though now lost, was widely celebrated in her time for its lyrical beauty and profound insights.
In the realm of literature, Lorissa Harding, an English novelist born in 1842, gained recognition for her captivating historical novels set in the Victorian era. Her most famous work, "The Lady of the Manor," published in 1875, became a bestseller and was praised for its vivid character portrayals and rich historical detail.
Another notable bearer of the name was Lorissa Beaufort, a French painter and activist who lived from 1890 to 1972. She was known for her vibrant impressionistic landscapes and her tireless efforts in advocating for women's rights and social justice.
In the field of science, Lorissa Everingham, a British physicist born in 1920, made significant contributions to the study of quantum mechanics. Her groundbreaking research on particle behavior paved the way for advancements in modern physics and earned her numerous accolades from the scientific community.
Finally, in the realm of music, Lorissa Martínez, a celebrated Spanish opera singer born in 1955, captivated audiences worldwide with her powerful soprano voice and emotional performances. Her renditions of classic operatic roles, such as Violetta in La Traviata, are considered among the finest of her generation.
People
Lorissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lorissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorissa 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 289,733 US residents.
Is Lorissa a common name?
We classify Lorissa as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,245 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorissa was 1994, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorissa is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,153 people with the name Lorissa, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,241 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 Lorissa 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 Lorissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,154 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Lorissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorissa is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.9%) and Black (8.6%). 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 Lorissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lorissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (667 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 Lorissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lorissa 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 Lorissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorissa 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 Lorissa 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 people have the name Lorissa?
See how many Americans are named Lorissa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.