Marrisa
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "of the sea" or "sea breeze".
Name Census estimates that about 1,020 living Americans carry the first name Marrisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marrisa today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marrisa births was 1994 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marrisa. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 336,034 Americans
Peak year
1994
76 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,836
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Marrisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marrisa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 481 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
Marrisa 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 Marrisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marrisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Marrisa, while Washington, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marrisa
The name Marrisa has its origins in the Latin language, with roots that can be traced back to ancient Rome. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "maris," meaning "sea." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially given to those born near coastal regions or those with a strong affinity for the sea.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marrisa can be found in medieval records from Italy, where it was often spelled as "Marissa." During this era, the name gained popularity among Italian families, particularly those residing in coastal cities like Venice and Genoa. It is speculated that the name held significance for these maritime communities, symbolizing the importance of the sea in their daily lives and livelihoods.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Marissa Ferri (1435-1497) was a renowned Venetian poet and scholar. Her works celebrated the beauty of the Adriatic Sea and the rich cultural heritage of Venice. Marissa Ferri's literary contributions helped popularize the name further among the Italian nobility and intellectual circles of the Renaissance period.
As trade and exploration expanded across Europe, the name Marrisa gradually spread to other regions. In Spain, a Spanish noblewoman named Marissa de Córdoba (1520-1586) became renowned for her patronage of the arts and her support for the establishment of the Spanish Armada. Her influence helped solidify the name's presence in Spanish-speaking territories.
The 17th century saw the rise of Marissa van Riebeeck (1629-1677), a Dutch colonial administrator and the wife of Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, South Africa. Her role in the establishment of the Dutch East Indies Company's settlements in southern Africa further disseminated the name across Dutch-speaking regions and their colonies.
Another notable figure was Marissa Pauling (1758-1824), a French revolutionary and writer who actively participated in the events of the French Revolution. Her works advocating for women's rights and social reform helped popularize the name among progressive circles in France and beyond.
In the 19th century, Marissa Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British social reformer and the founder of modern nursing. Her tireless efforts during the Crimean War and her influential work on hospital reform solidified her place in history and further spread the name Marrisa across the British Empire.
People
Marrisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marrisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marrisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marrisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,020 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marrisa 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 336,034 US residents.
Is Marrisa a common name?
We classify Marrisa as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,060 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marrisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Marrisa was 1994, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marrisa is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marrisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marrisa 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.
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.