Find out how popular the first name Marissa has been for the last 50 years (from 1974 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Marissa by gender

Based on the last 50 years of data, Marissa is more commonly used as a female name, with approximately 100% of people named Marissa being female.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 137 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Marissa.

The history of the first name Marissa

The name Marissa is derived from the ancient Greek name Maria, which itself is a variant of the Hebrew name Miriam. The name Maria was widely used in the Christian tradition, honoring the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Marissa emerged as a diminutive form of Maria, likely originating in Italy or other parts of southern Europe during the Middle Ages. The suffix "-issa" was a common way to create feminine diminutive names in Greek and Latin.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marissa can be found in the work of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who mentioned a woman named Marissa in his Divine Comedy, written in the early 14th century.

In the 16th century, a notable Marissa was Marissa Ferreira, a Portuguese noblewoman and courtier who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Austria.

During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity among the European aristocracy. Marissa de' Medici, an Italian noblewoman from the famous Medici family, was a prominent figure in the 16th century.

In the 18th century, Marissa Gherardi was an Italian painter and printmaker who gained recognition for her intricate etchings and engravings.

Another notable figure was Marissa Mori, a 19th-century Italian writer and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education.

The name Marissa continued to be used throughout Europe and eventually spread to other parts of the world, particularly after the Age of Exploration and the establishment of European colonies.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Marissa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Marissa, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!