Mylissa
A feminine name derived from the Greek word "melissa" meaning "honey bee."
Name Census estimates that about 368 living Americans carry the first name Mylissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mylissa today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mylissa births was 1991 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mylissa. 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
368
~ 1 in 931,398 Americans
Peak year
1991
19 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2012 SSA rank
#16,272
Tracked since 1957
Census
Mylissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 372 people with the first name Mylissa, which placed it at #25,491 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
#25,491
National first-name rank
People counted
372
372 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mylissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mylissa is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Mylissa 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 Mylissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.3% · 269
- Black or African American9.9% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 32
- Two or more races7.0% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
Popularity
Mylissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mylissa from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mylissa 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 Mylissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mylissas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mylissa
The name Mylissa has its origins in the ancient Greek language, dating back to the classical period of the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "melissa," meaning "honey bee." This name was likely inspired by the industrious nature and sweet nectar produced by these winged insects, which held significant symbolic meaning in Greek culture.
In Greek mythology, the goddess Artemis was often associated with honeybees, and her priestesses were known as "melissae." This connection between the name and the divine realm suggests that Mylissa may have been a name bestowed upon young girls with the hope of invoking the protection and blessings of the goddess.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Mylissa can be found in the works of ancient Greek historians and philosophers, such as Herodotus and Plato. However, it was not a widely popular name during that time period, and its usage remained relatively rare.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mylissa. One of the earliest was Mylissa of Byzantium (c. 350 BC), a renowned philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of geometry. Her work laid the foundation for many future advancements in the discipline.
Another prominent figure was Mylissa of Argos (c. 200 BC), a skilled sculptor whose masterpieces adorned many temples and public spaces in ancient Greece. Her intricate carvings and attention to detail were highly praised by her contemporaries.
In the 12th century, Mylissa of Antioch (1125-1198) was a influential religious leader and scholar who played a crucial role in the spread of Christianity throughout the Middle East. Her writings and teachings were widely disseminated and had a lasting impact on the region's theological landscape.
During the Renaissance period, Mylissa Boccaccio (1455-1521), an Italian poet and humanist, gained recognition for her lyrical works and translations of classical texts. Her contributions helped revive the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature in Europe.
More recently, Mylissa Farmer (1942-2018) was an American novelist and playwright whose works explored themes of identity, family, and the human condition. Her award-winning plays were performed on stages across the United States and garnered critical acclaim.
While the name Mylissa has experienced ebbs and flows in popularity over the centuries, its rich history and connection to the ancient Greek world have endured, making it a unique and intriguing choice for those seeking a name with deep cultural roots.
People
Mylissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mylissa 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
Mylissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mylissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 368 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mylissa 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 931,398 US residents.
Is Mylissa a common name?
We classify Mylissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mylissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Mylissa was 1991, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mylissa is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mylissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 372 people with the name Mylissa, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,491 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 Mylissa 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 Mylissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mylissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 379 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Mylissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mylissa is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Mylissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mylissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (269 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 Mylissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mylissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mylissa 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 Mylissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mylissa 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 Mylissa 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 common is the name Mylissa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.