Charisma
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "gift of grace".
Name Census estimates that about 3,677 living Americans carry the first name Charisma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charisma today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charisma births was 2000 (196 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charisma. 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 Charisma with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 93,216 Americans
Peak year
2000
196 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,121
Tracked since 1968
Census
Charisma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,136 people with the first name Charisma, which placed it at #5,470 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
#5,470
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,136 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charisma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charisma is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (21.8%) and Hispanic (18.3%). 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 Charisma 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 Charisma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.8% · 1,343
- White21.8% · 684
- Hispanic or Latino18.3% · 574
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 291
- Two or more races6.8% · 214
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 30
Popularity
Charisma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charisma from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,392 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charisma 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 Charisma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charismas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Charisma, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 83 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charisma
The name Charisma has its origins in the Greek language. It is derived from the ancient Greek word "charis" which means "grace" or "favor." The word "charisma" first appeared in Christian theological texts around the 1st century AD, referring to a divine gift or spiritual grace bestowed upon an individual.
In ancient Greek mythology, the Charites or Graces were minor deities who personified charm, beauty, and grace. They were often depicted accompanying other major gods and goddesses, symbolizing the concept of divine grace and favor. The name Charisma was likely inspired by this concept of grace and favor bestowed by the divine.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Charisma can be found in the New Testament of the Bible. In the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul uses the word "charisma" to refer to the spiritual gifts granted by God to believers. This usage of the term helped establish its association with divine grace and exceptional qualities.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Charisma. In the 4th century AD, Charisma of Terni was an Italian saint known for her piety and charitable works. Another early figure was Charisma, an Ostrogothic princess who lived in the 6th century AD and was the daughter of King Theodoric the Great.
During the Middle Ages, Charisma de Adraria was a 12th-century Italian noblewoman and benefactor of the church. In the 16th century, Charisma de los Reyes was a Spanish mystic and writer known for her spiritual visions and writings.
In more recent times, Charisma Carpenter (born 1970) is an American actress known for her roles in popular television series like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." Another notable figure is Charisma Munga (born 1981), a Zimbabwean model and beauty queen who won the Miss World University title in 2003.
While the name Charisma is not as common as some other names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, often associated with individuals who possessed exceptional qualities or divine favor. Its Greek roots and connection to the concept of grace and charm have contributed to its enduring appeal and significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Charisma
People
Charisma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charisma 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
Charisma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charisma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,677 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charisma 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 93,216 US residents.
Is Charisma a common name?
We classify Charisma as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,790 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charisma most popular?
The single biggest year for Charisma was 2000, when 196 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charisma is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charisma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,136 people with the name Charisma, or 1.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,470 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 Charisma 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 Charisma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charisma appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,132 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 Charisma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charisma is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (21.8%) and Hispanic (18.3%). 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 Charisma most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charisma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.8% (1,343 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 Charisma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charisma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charisma 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 Charisma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charisma 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 Charisma 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 share the name Charisma?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.