Jelissa
Feminine
Jelissa is built on an ending that came loose. Melissa is a Greek word — a bee — and once American naming had heard it enough times, the back half detached and became available on its own. Alissa, Nelissa, Kelissa and Jelissa all use it. The front here is the Je- that starts Jenna and Jessica, and it was chosen for its sound.
How old is the name Jelissa?
Jelissa first appears in US birth records in 1980 — 45 years ago. The typical Jelissa alive today was born around 1997, making them about 28 years old. About 900 people named Jelissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jelissa most popular?
Jelissa peaked in 1988, reaching #2051 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 12,891 places below that high. See the whole 1988 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Jelissa
Melissa arrived in English from Greek by way of literature — it is the name of a good enchantress in a sixteenth-century Italian epic, and it entered English poetry from there. It became widely used in America much later, and its very success is what broke it apart: once a sound is common enough, its parts start behaving like components. That is how English got the -lissa names, and the process is the same one that produced the -lyn and -ene families. Jelissa is a regular product of it. The parts are old and the whole is recent, which is the usual shape of a name built this way.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The ending has a source but the name does not inherit it. Greek melissa means a bee, from meli, honey, and Melissa carries that meaning honestly because the whole word is Greek. Take the -lissa off and attach it to a different syllable and the bee does not come along; a fragment is not a word. The Je- front is shared with several names and belongs to none of them in particular. So the honest position is that this name has no established meaning, only a well-documented ending.
Pronouncing Jelissa
juh-LISS-uh
juh-LISS-uh, three syllables, stress in the middle, the double s crisp. The spelling gives no trouble at all — every letter does what an English reader expects, which is unusual in a coined name.
Nicknames for Jelissa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1980
- Most girls named
- 199264 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2051reached in 1988
- Change vs 2023
- −50.0%5 in 2025, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jelissas among us
people named Jelissa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Jelissa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Cleotha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jelissa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cleotha climbed just as high around 1933, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cleotha's path sketches the road Jelissa is walking now.
Jelissa sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Jelissa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jelissa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is said correctly on first sight, which very few invented names manage.
- Lissa is a ready short form that stands on its own without needing the long name behind it.
- It rhymes with a shelf of familiar names, so it sounds settled even though it is recent.
- Melissa is so much better known that this will be heard as a version of it and written as one.
- There is no meaning to hand over — the bee belongs to Melissa and does not transfer.
- The name dates fairly precisely to one stretch of American naming, in the way that all the -lissa and -issa names do.
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What they receive
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Jelissa
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jelissas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Jelissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jelissa in 2025?
- Jelissa ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jelissa?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Jelissa — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jelissa with classmates?
- Jelissa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jelissa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jelissa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jelissa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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