Melissa

A buzz behind the name, literal: Melissa comes from the Greek melissa, honeybee, which traces further to meli, honey. In Cretan mythology it belonged to a nymph who nursed the infant Zeus on honey; in the ancient world it was a title given to priestesses of Demeter. The etymology is unusually sweet, and the name has worn its mythological depth without making a show of it — most of the millions of Melissas born in the 1970s had no idea they were carrying a goddess's epithet.

Melissa dominated American nurseries through the 1970s and 80s, reaching the top ten before the generational saturation that eventually slows every major trend name. It has since receded into a quieter position, currently sitting at rank 378 — a long fall from its peak, but not into obscurity. The name is at the interesting inflection point that other mid-century names like Karen and Linda are approaching: old enough to be grandmothers' names, not yet old enough to be charming in the way that Clara and Harriet have become charming again.

Three syllables that move in a long, liquid wave — ME-lis-sa, the stress falling centrally and both ends softening — Melissa pairs naturally with Viviana, Jocelyn, Elora, Gwendolyn, and Alivia in a sibling set. Nicknames Mel, Lissa, and Missy each pull the name in a different direction. The woman named Melissa has often spent a lifetime being one of three in any given room and has made peace with it — usually by being the one everyone actually remembers.