I like
Melissa and
Alyssa.
Melissa is one of the names I've seen most often throughout my life. So I'm pretty bored with it. It's not a mom-name to me despite, because the youngest
Melissa I know is about 21.
Melissa is like
Alison - no longer "fashionable" yet hasn't really dated too much. imo anyway.
Alyssa was given to my neighbor's baby in 1980 and it was an unusual choice then. But never seemed very unusual, thanks to the prevalence of
Alison and
Melissa and
Alicia. I like it mainly because it reminds me of alyssum flowers.
Clarissa sounds very cold to me. It's like a knife. I can appreciate that it's beautiful but I'm not attracted to it.
- mirfak