Nereyda vs Nerissa
American parents have registered 1,977 Nerissas since 1880, against 1,206 Nereydas. But in 2025 it was Nereyda that was commoner, 12 babies to 9.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Nereyda Nerissa
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 78 years in which either name was published, Nerissa for 54 years and Nereyda for 24 years. The lead changed hands 15 times.
- 1915–1990 Nerissa ahead
- 1994–2009 Nereyda ahead, apart from one short spell
- 2016–2020 Nerissa ahead
- 2021–2025 Nereyda ahead
11 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Nereyda | Nerissa | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,206 | 1,977 |
| Most in one year | 51 | 73 |
| Babies in 2025 | 12 | 9 |
| Estimated living today | 1,200 | 1,900 |
| Median age today | 30 | 41 |
| Peak year | 1981 | 1979 |
| Best rank | 2,028th girls | 1,569th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 8,362nd | 10,107th |
| First recorded | 1968 | 1915 |
| Girls / boys | 1,206 / 0 | 1,977 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Nerissas alive today are over 41; half the Nereydas are over 30. That is 11 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Nereyda California (6.0×), Texas (4.8×)
- Nerissa California (4.7×), New York (3.0×), North Carolina (2.8×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Nereyda and Nerissa.