Meaning and history
Created by Shakespeare for a character in his play The Merchant of Venice (1596), Nerissa was possibly taken from Greek Νηρηΐς (Nereis), meaning “nymph” or “sea sprite,” and ultimately derived from the name of the Greek sea god Nereus, who was said to have fathered them.
20062006: 20 births, rank #6,356
2007: 29 births, rank #4,944
2008: 18 births, rank #7,073
2009: 21 births, rank #6,317
2010: 17 births, rank #7,217
20112011: 9 births, rank #11,181
2012: 11 births, rank #9,711
2013: 8 births, rank #11,969
2014: 14 births, rank #8,053
2015: 5 births, rank #16,419
20162016: 15 births, rank #7,602
2017: 15 births, rank #7,442
2018: 8 births, rank #11,427
2019: 9 births, rank #10,473
2020: 8 births, rank #11,090
20212021: 8 births, rank #11,146
2022: no US SSA record for this spelling
2023: 5 births, rank #15,194
2024: 6 births, rank #13,477
20252025: 9 births, rank #10,107
In 2025, 9 babies were recorded with the name Nerissa, ranking #10,107 among girls.