Amarissa
Feminine variant of Amaryllis, derived from Greek meaning "to sparkle".
Name Census estimates that about 583 living Americans carry the first name Amarissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amarissa today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amarissa births was 2007 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amarissa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Amarissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
583
~ 1 in 587,915 Americans
Peak year
2007
38 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,385
Tracked since 1996
Census
Amarissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 410 people with the first name Amarissa, which placed it at #23,765 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,765
National first-name rank
People counted
410
410 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
58.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amarissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarissa is Hispanic at 58.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Amarissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Amarissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino58.5% · 240
- White23.7% · 97
- Two or more races7.1% · 29
- Black or African American6.1% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 7
Popularity
Amarissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amarissa from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 229 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Amarissa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amarissa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Amarissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Amarissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Amarissa, while Florida, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 41 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amarissa
The name Amarissa is a feminine name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "amarantos," meaning "unfading" or "everlasting." This name first emerged during the ancient Greek period and was initially associated with the amaranth flower, which was known for its resilience and long-lasting bloom.
The earliest recorded use of the name Amarissa can be traced back to ancient Greek literature, where it was mentioned in various texts as a name for women. However, it was not a widely popular name during that time and remained relatively uncommon until the modern era.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to the amaranth flower being associated with immortality and eternal life. This connection may have influenced the choice of the name Amarissa for some parents, as it symbolized a desire for their daughter to have a long and enduring life.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Amarissa. One of the earliest was Amarissa of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC. She was known for her contributions to the study of ethics and moral philosophy.
Another prominent figure was Amarissa of Rhodes, a Greek sculptor from the 3rd century BC. Her work was highly regarded, and some of her sculptures adorned temples and public spaces in ancient Greece.
In the Renaissance period, Amarissa Borgia (1475-1511) was a member of the famous Borgia family in Italy. She was known for her intelligence and political acumen, serving as an advisor to her brother, Cesare Borgia.
During the 19th century, Amarissa Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British nurse and social reformer. She was a pioneer in the field of nursing and is credited with establishing the first secular nursing school in the world.
More recently, Amarissa Farrell (1920-2005) was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the mid-20th century.
While the name Amarissa has not been as widely popular as some other names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, with individuals bearing this name making notable contributions in various fields, including philosophy, art, politics, nursing, and entertainment.
People
Amarissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amarissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Amarissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amarissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 583 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amarissa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 587,915 US residents.
Is Amarissa a common name?
We classify Amarissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 590 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amarissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Amarissa was 2007, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amarissa is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amarissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 410 people with the name Amarissa, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,765 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Amarissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Amarissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amarissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 400 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Amarissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amarissa is Hispanic at 58.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Amarissa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Amarissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (240 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Amarissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amarissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amarissa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Amarissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amarissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Amarissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Amarissa as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Amarissa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.