Kalissa
Feminine
Melissa is a bee, and the priestesses of Demeter were called Melissae. Greek meli is honey and melissa the bee that makes it, and the word was used as a cult title at Eleusis — so the name behind the second half of Kalissa is both an insect and a religious office.
How old is the name Kalissa?
Kalissa first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Kalissa alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 1,100 people named Kalissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kalissa most popular?
Kalissa peaked in 2007, reaching #2394 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 5,491 places below that high. See the whole 2007 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From meli to Kalissa
Our story of Kalissa
The bee had a serious religious role in the Greek world. Priestesses at Eleusis and at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus were called Melissae, and the Pythia at Delphi is called the Delphic bee in one poetic source. Bees were held to be uniquely pure and were associated with prophecy and with the dead; one persistent ancient belief, recorded by Virgil, was that a swarm could be generated from the carcass of an ox, a procedure described in detail and entirely impossible. Honey was the only sweetener and a preservative, which is part of why the insect carried so much weight. Melissa entered English use in the sixteenth century from Italian romance, became a major American name in the 1970s, and then supplied a stem. Kalissa peaks in 2007.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No inherited meaning as a compound. Ka- is a created American prefix; -lissa is drawn from Melissa, Greek for a bee, from meli, honey. The Melissae were priestesses of Demeter and of other cults, and the name appears in myth for a nymph who nursed the infant Zeus on honey. None of that transfers to Kalissa, which has no documented reading.
How the name formed
- meli
- melissa
- Melissa
- Kalissa
Related forms: Kalyssa · Melissa
Pronouncing Kalissa
kuh-LISS-uh
Three syllables, stress on the second. The doubled s is a hissed s rather than a z, which is what separates it from Kaliza in speech.
Nicknames for Kalissa
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
- 1976
- Most girls named
- 200779 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2394reached in 2007
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%13 in 2025, from 13
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.
Kalissa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kalyssa in English — spelling variant
- Melissa in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Kalissas among us
people named Kalissa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Kalissa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kalissa
- #7885
- Kalissa on the 2025 chart
- #926
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kalissa went to 13 girls in 2025, but Calissa and Kalyssa are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 34, which makes it the 926th most-given girls’ name of the year — 6,959 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 47,273 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 123,636 for Kalissa itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lucrecia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kalissa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lucrecia climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lucrecia's path sketches the road Kalissa is walking now.
Kalissa 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
Kalissa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kalissa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lissa and Kali are ready short forms that stand alone.
- It is soft, flowing and easy to say in English.
- It sits close to Melissa without being it.
- Kalyssa and Calissa compete for the same sound.
- There is no meaning to give for the compound.
- It is easily confused with Melissa and Alissa in speech.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kalissa to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kalissa? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kalissa
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kalissas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Kalissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kalissa?
- Kalissa is one of 3 recorded spellings. Calissa is the more common one — 13 births in 2025 against 13 for Kalissa.
- How popular is the name Kalissa in 2025?
- Kalissa ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kalissa?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Kalissa — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kalissa with classmates?
- Kalissa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kalissa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kalissa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kalissa and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle