Marissa

Meaning & origin

Marissa is a girl's name of English origin, traditionally used in Christian families. The name means "Of the sea, from Latin maris (sea). A modern elaboration of Mary with oceanic resonance" and belongs to the Nature cluster — names drawn from the natural world — earth, water, sky.

Beyond its Christian heritage, Marissa is also used in Atheist traditions, reflecting how this name has traveled across cultures.

Common among British, American, European families, Marissa carries cultural weight that goes beyond its dictionary definition — it's a name with a story and a community.

Numerology of Marissa

Numerology assigns each name a single-digit destiny number by summing its letter values. Different schools use different mappings — NameRoot computes both so you can see how Marissa resonates in either tradition.

How Marissa sounds

NameRoot scores the phonetic fit of every name against the sound of your last name. The pronunciation of Marissa breaks down into 6 phonemes: /M-AE-R-IH-S-AE/. In the app, you'll see how those sounds flow with your family name across rhythm, stress, and consonant clusters.

Nicknames

Common affectionate forms of Marissa — useful for everyday family conversation, early childhood, or as standalone given names themselves.

The six signals, applied to Marissa

NameRoot scores every name across six independent dimensions. Here's how Marissa maps to each — install the app to see the full compatibility score for your specific family.