Melisha
Feminine
Melisha changes two letters of a familiar name and, in doing so, moves it from one naming family into another. The sound barely shifts; the company the name keeps changes completely.
How old is the name Melisha?
Melisha first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Melisha alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 900 people named Melisha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Melisha most popular?
Melisha peaked in 1980, reaching #1766 nationally. See the whole 1980 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Melisha
A family of names is held together by its endings, not its origins. Melissa, Larissa, Carissa and Marissa share a shape and look related; Latisha, Alisha, Keisha and Nisha share a different shape and also look related; and the only thing separating the two groups is whether the hissing sound in the middle is written ss or sh. Swap those two letters and a name crosses from one group to the other, keeping its front syllable and its rhythm. That is a remarkably cheap way to make a new name, and it was used constantly in the decades this one appears. What it costs is the etymology: the Greek word stays behind with the old spelling, and the new one arrives in its new family with empty hands.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Melissa has a settled Greek meaning and this spelling does not inherit it. Replacing the double s with sh detaches the name from the Greek word and attaches it, by sound, to the American -isha family, which has no source language at all. The result belongs to neither and borrows the look of both.
Pronouncing Melisha
muh-LEE-shuh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some families say MEL-ish-uh, keeping the Mel audible, and both are heard.
Nicknames for Melisha
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
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 198062 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1766reached in 1980
- Change vs 2007
- −16.7%5 in 2014, from 6
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.
Melishas among us
people named Melisha are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Melisha sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is familiar and unfamiliar at once, which is a narrow and useful place for a name.
- It offers short forms that point in two different directions.
- Nothing in it is hard to say for anybody.
- Melissa is what most people will hear and write.
- The name sits between two families, so it will be assumed to belong to whichever one the listener knows better.
- It is not a form of Melissa in any meaningful sense, and the Greek meaning does not come with it.
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Melisha
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Melishas 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 Melisha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Melisha in 2025?
- Melisha is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Melisha with classmates?
- Melisha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Melisha? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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