Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Malissa is a variant of Melissa. An origin associated with Melissa is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Malissa is a variant of Melissa. The history of Melissa gives this family its wider story. In Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, Melissa is the benevolent witch who frees Rogero from Alcina. Separately, Melissa has also been used in Ireland as an English form of Maoilíosa; the two contexts should not be collapsed into one origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Malissa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,866
- 0 boys · 8,866 girls
- Most popular year
- 1979
- 307 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,546 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −42%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,546 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 307 in 1979. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,963 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Malissa’s family of names
Malissa has a related form in Melissa. In English usage, Malissa has a conventional equivalent in the German form Melitta.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Malissa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Melisa
Melisa is a feminine given name from Greek. It is used in Turkish and Albanian.
>99% girls
Marlena
Marlena is a feminine given name. It is used in English, Polish, Catalan, and Faroese.
>99% girls
Maricela
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% girls
Marisela
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% girls
Elissa
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Mandy
“one who is much loved”
>99% girls
Maribel
Maribel is used as a given name and a surname. Maribel is connected with Mary.
>99% girls
Anissa
“one who is affectionate and friendly”
>99% girls