Maryssa
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly combining Mary and a Teutonic element.
Name Census estimates that about 1,628 living Americans carry the first name Maryssa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryssa today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryssa births was 1997 (98 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryssa. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 210,537 Americans
Peak year
1997
98 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,690
Tracked since 1977
Census
Maryssa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,460 people with the first name Maryssa, which placed it at #9,494 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
#9,494
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,460 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maryssa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryssa is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.0%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Maryssa 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 Maryssa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.2% · 850
- Hispanic or Latino25.0% · 365
- Black or African American8.2% · 120
- Two or more races6.6% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 9
Popularity
Maryssa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryssa from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 798 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maryssa 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 Maryssa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryssas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Maryssa, while Tennessee, Oregon, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryssa
The name Maryssa is derived from the ancient Greek name Maria, which was a vernacular form of the Hebrew name Miryam. Miryam is believed to have originated from the Hebrew root words "mar" meaning "bitter" or "beloved," and "yam" meaning "sea." The name Maria gained widespread popularity in the Christian world due to its association with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Maryssa is a variant spelling of the name Maria, likely emerging in the Middle Ages as a result of regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions. It was most commonly used in regions with strong French or German linguistic influences, where the additional "y" and "ss" were incorporated into the spelling.
While there are no definitive historical records of the first use of the name Maryssa, it is believed to have been in use as early as the 12th or 13th century in certain parts of Europe. Some of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval records and documents from regions such as France, Germany, and the Low Countries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Maryssa. One of the earliest recorded instances is Maryssa de Montfort (c. 1200-1252), a French noblewoman and the daughter of Simon de Montfort, a prominent leader during the Albigensian Crusade. Another notable figure was Maryssa von Habsburg (1505-1558), a German princess and Archduchess of Austria, who was the daughter of Emperor Maximilian I.
In the 16th century, Maryssa Schöffer (1530-1590) was a German printer and publisher who played a significant role in the development of the printing industry in Mainz. During the Renaissance period, Maryssa Gozzadini (1564-1623) was an Italian painter known for her religious works and portraits, and she was one of the few female artists to achieve recognition during her lifetime.
In more recent history, Maryssa Naud (1887-1982) was a Canadian novelist and playwright who made significant contributions to the literary scene in Quebec during the early 20th century.
While the name Maryssa has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a presence across various cultures and time periods, often associated with notable figures in literature, art, and nobility. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages, reflecting the rich historical and cultural influences that have shaped the evolution of this name.
People
Maryssa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryssa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maryssa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryssa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,628 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryssa 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 210,537 US residents.
Is Maryssa a common name?
We classify Maryssa as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,670 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryssa most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryssa was 1997, when 98 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryssa is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maryssa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,460 people with the name Maryssa, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,494 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 Maryssa 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 Maryssa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maryssa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,459 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 Maryssa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryssa is White at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.0%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Maryssa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maryssa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.2% (850 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 Maryssa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maryssa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryssa 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 Maryssa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maryssa 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 Maryssa 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 share the name Maryssa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.