Crissa
A feminine variant of the name "Crispus", of Latin origin meaning "curly-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 395 living Americans carry the first name Crissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Crissa today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Crissa births was 1987 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Crissa. 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
395
~ 1 in 867,733 Americans
Peak year
1987
18 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2011 SSA rank
#15,258
Tracked since 1961
Popularity
Crissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Crissa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Crissa 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 Crissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Crissas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Crissa
The name Crissa is derived from the ancient Greek word "krissa," which means "a Cretan woman." Its roots can be traced back to the island of Crete, located in the Mediterranean Sea. This name has been in use since antiquity, with references dating back to the Minoan civilization that flourished on Crete from around 2700 to 1450 BC.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Crissa can be found in the ancient Greek epic poem, the Odyssey, written by Homer around the 8th century BC. In this work, Crissa is mentioned as a town located on the island of Crete, known for its legendary hospitality and rich cultural heritage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Crissa. One such figure was Crissa of Camirus (born c. 550 BC), a celebrated Greek poet from the island of Rhodes. Her poetic works, though now lost, were highly regarded in ancient times and praised for their lyrical beauty and insightful observations on life and love.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Saint Crissa (c. 300 AD), a Christian martyr who lived during the Roman persecution of Christians. According to legend, she was executed for her unwavering faith, and her martyrdom inspired many to convert to Christianity in the region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).
In the Middle Ages, Crissa di Monteluce (c. 1190 - c. 1270) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She is credited with commissioning several important works of art and architecture, including the construction of a church and a bridge in her hometown of Perugia, Italy.
During the Renaissance period, Crissa Borghese (1584 - 1633) was an Italian painter and poet. She was renowned for her exceptional talent in portraiture and her ability to capture the essence of her subjects on canvas. Her literary works, which included sonnets and poems, were also highly regarded during her lifetime.
More recently, Crissa Pavlakis (1923 - 2008) was a prominent Greek-American author and educator. She wrote several novels and short stories that explored themes of identity, cultural assimilation, and the immigrant experience. Her works were widely acclaimed and helped to shed light on the challenges faced by Greek-Americans in the 20th century.
People
Crissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Crissa 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
Crissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Crissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 395 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Crissa 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 867,733 US residents.
Is Crissa a common name?
We classify Crissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 420 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Crissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Crissa was 1987, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Crissa is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Crissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Crissa 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.
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.