My Name Origin Story

Where did your name come from?

My name, Melissa, is Greek and it means “honey bee.”

According to Wikipedia:

“The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (mélissa), “bee”, which in turn comes from μέλι (meli), “honey”. In Hittite, melit signifies “honey”.^[4]

Melissa was a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey and from whom bees were believed to have received their name. She was one of the nymph nurses of Zeus…but rather than feeding the baby milk, Melissa, appropriately for her name, fed him honey.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa

I am not sure why my parents chose to name me “Melissa.”

I know that in the 1970’s, especially the year in which I was born (in the U.S. at least), Melissa was a super popular name.

I think my parents just thought it was pretty and decided it should be my name.