Rissie
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially a diminutive of a longer name.
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Rissie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rissie today is around 116 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rissie births was 1900 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rissie. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Rissie is about 116 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rissies were born before 1920.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rissie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1900
13 babies that year
Average age
116
years old
1939 SSA rank
#4,813
Tracked since 1884
Popularity
Rissie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rissie from the 1880s through to the 1930s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 52 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rissie 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 Rissie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rissies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rissie
The name Rissie is a diminutive form of the feminine name Marissa, which has its origins in the ancient Greek language. Marissa is derived from the Greek word "marissos," meaning "little bitter one." The exact etymology of the shortened form Rissie is unclear, but it likely emerged as an affectionate nickname or variant of the longer name.
Rissie does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, the root name Marissa has been used for centuries, with some of the earliest recorded examples dating back to the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century AD.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Rissie was Rissie Fairbairn (1892-1985), a Scottish actress and singer who appeared in numerous British films and stage productions during the early 20th century. Another prominent figure was Rissie Elrington-Bisset (1854-1944), a British philanthropist and social reformer who founded the National Union of Women Workers in 1894.
Rissie Lena Smith (1892-1988) was an American writer and poet from Texas, known for her works exploring themes of rural life and the American Southwest. Rissie Grice (1904-1984) was a British politician and member of the Labour Party, who served as a Member of Parliament for Lambeth North from 1945 to 1970.
In the field of sports, Rissie Fairbairn (1915-2001) was a Scottish golfer who won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 1938 and represented Great Britain in international competitions.
It's important to note that while these examples provide historical context for the name Rissie, its usage as a first name has been relatively uncommon compared to its root name, Marissa.
People
Rissie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rissie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rissie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rissie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rissie 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Rissie a common name?
We classify Rissie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rissie most popular?
The single biggest year for Rissie was 1900, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rissie is about 116 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rissie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rissie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rissie 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 Rissie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rissie 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 Rissie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Rissie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Rissie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.