Caryssa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "grace" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 193 living Americans carry the first name Caryssa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caryssa today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caryssa births was 1999 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caryssa. 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.
People living today
193
~ 1 in 1,775,929 Americans
Peak year
1999
16 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2012 SSA rank
#17,397
Tracked since 1989
Census
Caryssa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 192 people with the first name Caryssa, which placed it at #39,369 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
#39,369
National first-name rank
People counted
192
192 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caryssa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caryssa is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.4%) and Two or More Races (8.9%). 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 Caryssa 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 Caryssa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.0% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino21.4% · 41
- Two or more races8.9% · 17
- Black or African American4.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 6
Popularity
Caryssa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caryssa from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 97 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
Caryssa 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 Caryssa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caryssa
The name Caryssa is a feminine name of Greek origin. It is derived from the Greek word "charis" which means grace, favor, or charm. The name first emerged in the late 19th century as a variation of the more common name "Carissa."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Caryssa was in ancient Greek literature, where it was used to describe a beautiful and graceful woman. The name was also mentioned in some early Christian texts, where it was associated with the concept of divine grace.
The first notable person with the name Caryssa was Caryssa of Corinth, a Greek poet who lived in the 5th century BC. She is known for her lyrical poems that celebrated the beauty of nature and the human spirit.
In the 12th century, there was a Caryssa of Constantinople, a Byzantine noblewoman who was renowned for her charity and philanthropy. She established several schools and hospitals for the poor in the city.
During the Renaissance period, Caryssa Borgia (1476-1518) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her support of artists and intellectuals, and her lavish parties and salons.
In the 19th century, Caryssa Mendoza (1835-1901) was a Mexican artist and activist who fought for women's rights and education. She founded several schools for girls and advocated for women's suffrage.
More recently, Caryssa Alvarado (1922-2008) was a Puerto Rican writer and journalist who chronicled the struggles and triumphs of her community. Her novels and short stories explored themes of identity, culture, and social justice.
Throughout history, the name Caryssa has been associated with grace, beauty, and a strong sense of purpose. While not as common as some other names, it has been carried by notable women who have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
People
Caryssa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caryssa 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
Caryssa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caryssa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 193 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caryssa 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 1,775,929 US residents.
Is Caryssa a common name?
We classify Caryssa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caryssa most popular?
The single biggest year for Caryssa was 1999, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caryssa is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caryssa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 192 people with the name Caryssa, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,369 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 Caryssa 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 Caryssa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caryssa leans strongly female. 205 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Caryssa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caryssa is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.4%) and Two or More Races (8.9%). 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 Caryssa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caryssa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (119 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 Caryssa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caryssa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caryssa 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 Caryssa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caryssa 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 Caryssa 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 called Caryssa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.