Mirissa
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly from Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 215 living Americans carry the first name Mirissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mirissa today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mirissa births was 1996 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mirissa. 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
215
~ 1 in 1,594,206 Americans
Peak year
1996
18 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,901
Tracked since 1985
Census
Mirissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 258 people with the first name Mirissa, which placed it at #32,555 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
#32,555
National first-name rank
People counted
258
258 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mirissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirissa is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.9%) and Black (9.7%). 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 Mirissa 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 Mirissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.4% · 179
- Hispanic or Latino15.9% · 41
- Black or African American9.7% · 25
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Mirissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mirissa from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 124 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Mirissa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mirissa 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 Mirissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mirissa
The name Mirissa finds its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to the 1st millennium BCE. Its origins can be traced to the word "Mirisha," which translates to "peaceful" or "tranquil." This name was initially prevalent among the Brahmin caste in the regions of northern India.
During the early centuries of the Common Era, the name Mirissa gained popularity within the Buddhist tradition. It is believed that one of the earliest recorded instances of this name was in the 4th century CE, when a Buddhist nun named Mirissa was renowned for her spiritual teachings and contributions to the monastic order.
As trade routes and cultural exchanges flourished between India and Southeast Asia, the name Mirissa found its way into the region. In the 7th century CE, a Khmer princess named Mirissa was celebrated for her beauty and grace, and her name was immortalized in ancient Cambodian chronicles.
One of the most notable figures bearing the name Mirissa was a 12th-century Sanskrit scholar and poet from southern India. Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the natural world, were highly acclaimed and widely studied in literary circles of the time.
In the 15th century, a Balinese princess named Mirissa played a pivotal role in establishing diplomatic ties between the island's kingdoms and neighboring regions. Her name has been etched in the historical records of Balinese royalty for her diplomatic prowess and cultural influence.
During the 16th century, a Mughal courtesan named Mirissa was renowned for her exquisite beauty and artistic talents. She was a celebrated dancer and musician at the court of Emperor Akbar, and her name has been immortalized in the annals of Mughal history.
As centuries passed, the name Mirissa continued to be favored across various regions of South and Southeast Asia, with numerous individuals bearing this moniker leaving their mark on the cultural and historical tapestry of their respective societies.
People
Mirissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mirissa 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
Mirissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mirissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mirissa 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 1,594,206 US residents.
Is Mirissa a common name?
We classify Mirissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 222 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mirissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Mirissa was 1996, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mirissa is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mirissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 258 people with the name Mirissa, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,555 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 Mirissa 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 Mirissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mirissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 256 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 Mirissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirissa is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.9%) and Black (9.7%). 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 Mirissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mirissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (179 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 Mirissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mirissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mirissa 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 Mirissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mirissa 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 Mirissa 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 Americans are named Mirissa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.