Shem Tov Girl's nameOrigin: ArabicIn Israel: rare
MelissaIn Hebrew: מליסה · meaning, pronunciation and popularity in Israel
Melissa (Hebrew: מליסה) is a girl's name of Arabic origin. 626 people born in Israel between 1949 and 2024 have it today, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). In 2024 it was given to 10 girls and ranked #703. Its peak year was 1985, with 21 babies.
- People in Israel
- 626
- born 1949–2024
- Babies in 2024
- 10
- rank #703
- Peak year
- 1985
- 21 babies
- USA, 2025
- 747
- rank #419
Writing and saying Melissa
In Hebrew letters the name is מליסה, read right to left. Melissa is the Latin spelling recorded in Wikidata; families choose their own spelling in passports, so you may also meet other forms.
We have no sourced English explanation of this name yet, so we do not guess one. The Hebrew page has our Hebrew notes when there are any.
Melissa by year: Israel and abroad
How many girls out of every 10,000 born each year have the name. For Israel it counts the people born that year who carry the name today (the CBS counts residents by year of birth, not birth registrations).
per 10,000 babies of the same sex
Melissa in English-speaking countries
| Country / region | Year | Babies | Rank | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | 747 | #419 | 1979 (34,050) |
| United Kingdom | 2025 | 142 | #338 | 1997 (1,424) |
| England and Wales | 2025 | 136 | #321 | 1996 (1,282) |
| Scotland | 2025 | 6 | #474 | 1994 (224) |
| Ireland | 2025 | 27 | #176 | 1984 (162) |
| Alberta | 2025 | 15 | #296 | 1984 (364) |
| Quebec | 2025 | 14 | #363 | 1990 (875) |
Counts for girls. The Hebrew page for Melissa has every year and the other spellings.
Related Israeli names
Spelling variants and names that look or sound close in Hebrew.
Questions about Melissa
How do you write Melissa in Hebrew?
Melissa is written מליסה in Hebrew. Hebrew is read right to left.
How many people in Israel are named Melissa?
626 people born between 1949 and 2024 carry the name מליסה: 626 women and 0 men. The count comes from the CBS table of current first names by year of birth; years with fewer than 5 people are not published.
Is Melissa a boy's or a girl's name?
In Israel it is almost always a girl's name: 100.0% of the people named מליסה are women.
Is Melissa used outside Israel?
The name Melissa appears in the official baby name lists of English-speaking countries. In the United States 747 girls were given it in 2025 (#419), per the Social Security Administration. In the UK 142 in 2025 (ONS, NRS and NISRA combined).
Sources
Israel: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), current first names of people born 1949–2024 by sex, population group and year of birth, processed 2026-09-27. CBS publications.
Abroad
- United States: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA)
Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications - National Data
Years 1880–2025 · updated 2026-04-13 · licence: Public domain (U.S. Government work) · names given to fewer than 5 babies a year are not published - England and Wales: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Baby names in England and Wales: from 1996
Years 1996–2025 · updated 2026-07 · licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · names given to fewer than 3 babies a year are not published - Scotland: National Records of Scotland (NRS)
Babies' First Names: all names given to babies between 1974 and 2025
Years 1974–2025 · updated 2026-05-26 · licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · names given to fewer than 3 babies a year are not published - Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
Full list of first forenames given to babies registered in Northern Ireland, 1997 to 2025
Years 1997–2025 · updated 2026-04-16 · licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · names given to fewer than 3 babies a year are not published - Ireland: Central Statistics Office Ireland (CSO)
Irish Babies' Names (PxStat tables VSA50, VSA60)
Years 1964–2025 · updated 2026 · licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) · names given to fewer than 3 babies a year are not published - British Columbia: BC Vital Statistics Agency
Most Popular Girl / Boy Names for the Past 100 Years
Years 1924–2023 · updated 2024 · licence: Open Government Licence - British Columbia · names given to fewer than 5 babies a year are not published - Alberta: Alberta Vital Statistics
Frequency and ranking of baby names by year and gender
Years 1980–2025 · updated 2026-08-11 · licence: Open Government Licence - Alberta - Quebec: Retraite Québec
Banque de prénoms (filles, garçons)
Years 1980–2025 · updated 2026-06-18 · licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) · names given to fewer than 5 babies a year are not published - New South Wales: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
BDM Data - Popular Baby Names 1952 to 2025 (top 100 per year)
Years 1952–2025 · updated 2026-03-25 · licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Counts are copied as published. We only merged accented spellings (Zoë = Zoe) and computed ranks and rates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia and the Open Government Licence – Alberta.