Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Missy?
Births per year, rank history and how many Missies are alive today.
Missy (female) is a shortened form of the name Melissa. Although Missy itself was given to 10 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 2605th as a registered name), most Missies are registered as Melissa, which ranked 321st in 2025 with 136 babies.
Most people called Missy are registered as Melissa, and share that name's profile: the Melissa you are most likely to meet is around 32 years old. Half of all Melissas born in England and Wales are between 24 and 37, and there are at least 29,000 of them alive today. Only some Melissas go by Missy.
How many babies are named Missy or Melissa each year?
Combined registrations of Melissa, Missy. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Melissa rank as a registered name?
Where does Missy rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Missy short for Melissa?
Yes - Missy is a shortened form of Melissa. Missies are usually registered as Melissa at birth.
When was the name Missy most popular?
The full name Melissa peaked in 1994, when around 1,500 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Missy itself peaked as a registered name in 2004, with 33 babies.
How many people are called Missy?
There's no official count of people who go by Missy, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 29,000 people registered as Melissa born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Missy.
How old is the typical Missy?
Most people called Missy are registered as Melissa. Most living Melissas are between 24 and 37; the most common age is about 32.
Is Missy becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.