Given name
Marissa
“woman of the sea”
Marissa is used as a given name. One Latin interpretation is “woman of the sea.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “woman of the sea.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1936. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Marissa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 121,112
- 270 boys · 120,842 girls
- Most popular year
- 1994
- 6,260 babies
- 2025
- 123
- #1,679 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −56%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 123 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,679 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 56.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 6,246 in 1994. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (22). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 111,567 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.
Marissa’s family of names
In Filipino usage, Marissa has a diminutive in ISAY. Marissa has a related form in Marisol. In Filipino usage, Marissa has a related form in Marisa.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Marissa has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 24
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Marissa
- Marissa MayerAmerican business executive and engineer, former CEO of Yahoo!born 1975
- Marissa Jaret WinokurAmerican actressborn 1973
- Marissa MeyerAmerican writer of young-adult speculative fictionborn 1984
- Marissa NeitlingAmerican actressborn 1984
- Marissa Castellifigure skaterborn 1990
- Marissa RibisiAmerican actressborn 1974
- Marissa NadlerAmerican singer-songwriterborn 1981
- Marissa ColemanAmerican basketball player (born 1987)
- Marissa BodeAmerican actressborn 2000
Characters named Marissa: Marissa Cooper (The O.C).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Marissa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marina
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Coral
Coral is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the semiprecious sea growth; from the reef.”
>99% girls
Luz
“refers to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Light” · “of the moon”
1% boys · 99% girls
Ávila
“bird”
—
Topaz
“resembling a yellow gemstone”
2% boys · 98% girls
Ascariz
“ash tree; spear”
—
Escarís
“ash tree; spear”
—
Reseda
“resembling the mignonette flower”
5% boys · 95% girls