The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Risa!

Comments and insights on the name Risa: | Edit

Pronounced Ree-sah (like Lisa, with an R)

Personal experiences with the name Risa: | Edit

I have never met another person with my name though I have met one or two people who know of another Risa. Most everyone I meet compliments me on my unique and beautiful name.

Throughout elementary school and middle school, peers always tried to make me concede to being called Reeses or Peanut Butter Cup or Reeses' Pieces because of the similarity to my name. I hated it, and it's something to be aware of when naming someone. ~Risa, Age 16

Nicknames for Risa: | Edit

Reese, Reesy, Peanut Butter Cup, Reeses

Meanings and history of the name Risa: | Edit

It is Latin for "smile".
It is Spanish for "laughter".
It is Japanese, the most common meanings found on english naming sites are either "Gossamer of the Village" or "Sand of the Village". However, "Risa" can be written a number of ways, with the character for "village" (里), "reason" (理), "pear" (梨), or "jasmine" (莉) coming first, followed by the character for either "sand" (沙), "assistant" (佐), or "gauze" (紗). The popular combinations of kanji characters being "village, sand" (里沙), "village, gauze" (里紗), "reason, guaze" (理紗), and "pear, sand" (梨沙).

Famous real-life people named Risa: | Edit

Rise Stevens, an American opera singer
Risa Hayamizu (リサ), a Japanese voice actress
Risa Itō (理佐), a Japanese manga artist
Risa Junna (りさ), a Japanese actress
Risa Kudō (里紗), a Japanese model and actress
Risa Niigaki (里沙), a member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume
Risa Ohki (理紗), a Japanese vocalist
Risa Shimamoto (里沙), a Japanese gravure idol
Risa Wataya (りさ), a female Japanese novelist

Risa in song, story & screen: | Edit

Risa (リサ), a character in the animated film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
Risa, a character in the young adult novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Risa Harada (梨紗), a character from the anime and manga series D.N.Angel