Carissa
A female given name of Greek origin meaning "most beloved, dearest".
Name Census estimates that about 27,132 living Americans carry the first name Carissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carissa today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carissa births was 1992 (1,156 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carissa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Carissa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
27K
~ 1 in 12,633 Americans
Peak year
1992
1,156 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1989 SSA rank
#3,448
Tracked since 1949
Census
Carissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 25,320 people with the first name Carissa, which placed it at #1,387 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,387
National first-name rank
People counted
25K
25,320 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carissa is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.9%) and Black (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Carissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Carissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.2% · 18,030
- Hispanic or Latino12.9% · 3,267
- Black or African American6.0% · 1,513
- Two or more races5.3% · 1,334
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 982
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 194
Gender
Gender distribution for Carissa
Out of the 28,412 babies given the name Carissa since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Carissa as a male name
- Ranked #6,309 in 1989
- 7 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (7 births)
Carissa as a female name
- Ranked #3,448 in 2024
- 45 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (1,156 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 25,327 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Carissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carissa from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 8,820 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carissa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Carissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Carissa, while Delaware, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 525 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carissa
The name Carissa is believed to have originated from the Greek word "charis," meaning grace, favor, or charm. It is thought to have been derived from the name "Charis," one of the three Charites or Graces in Greek mythology, who were the embodiment of charm, beauty, and grace.
Carissa was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times, but it did appear in some historical records and texts. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the works of the Roman poet Ovid, who lived in the 1st century BC and the early 1st century AD. Ovid mentioned a character named Carissa in his famous work "Metamorphoses."
In the Middle Ages, the name Carissa was occasionally used in some regions of Europe, particularly in Italy and Greece, where it maintained its Greek roots. However, it was not a widely popular name during this period.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Carissa was Carissa of Beneventum, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 9th century AD. She was a prominent figure in the Principality of Benevento, a Lombard duchy in southern Italy.
Another notable figure was Carissa of Burgundy, a French noblewoman from the 12th century AD. She was the daughter of Duke Odo II of Burgundy and married William VII, Count of Auvergne.
In the 16th century, Carissa Petrucci was an Italian painter and poet from the city of Siena. She was known for her religious paintings and her poetry, which often explored themes of love and devotion.
During the 17th century, Carissa de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman and a member of the famous Medici family of Florence. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of artists and writers.
In the 19th century, Carissa Browning was an English poet and writer, known for her romantic poetry and her association with the Browning family of writers and intellectuals.
While the name Carissa has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a presence in various cultures and regions, particularly in areas with Greek or Italian influences. Its connection to the concept of grace and beauty has likely contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Carissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carissa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Carissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27,132 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carissa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 12,633 US residents.
Is Carissa a common name?
We classify Carissa as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28,412 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Carissa was 1992, when 1,156 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carissa is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 25,320 people with the name Carissa, or 8.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,387 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Carissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Carissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 25,327 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Carissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carissa is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.9%) and Black (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Carissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Carissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (18,030 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Carissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carissa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Carissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Carissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Carissa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.