Karise
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly Scandinavian or French.
Name Census estimates that about 22 living Americans carry the first name Karise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karise today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karise births was 2008 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karise. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Karise. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
22
~ 1 in 15,579,743 Americans
Peak year
2008
7 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,571
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Karise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karise from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Karise remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karise 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 Karise 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 Karise
The name Karise has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old Norse word "kár," meaning "curly-haired," and the suffix "-is," which denotes a diminutive form, creating a name that roughly translates to "little curly one."
During the Viking Age, the name Karise was primarily found in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Denmark. It was a popular name among Norse families, often given to daughters with curly or wavy hair. The name's earliest recorded use can be found in the Icelandic sagas, where it appears as a character name in the 13th century Njáls saga.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Karise was Karise Gudmundsdottir, a Norwegian noblewoman born in the late 12th century. She was the daughter of Gudmund Éysteinson, a prominent chieftain in the Trondheim region, and is mentioned in the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas written by the renowned Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson.
In the 14th century, a Danish woman named Karise Eriksdatter made her mark as a skilled weaver and embroiderer. Her intricate tapestries adorned several churches and noble homes in Denmark, and her work was highly sought after by the aristocracy of the time.
During the Renaissance period, Karise Johannesdatter (1525-1589) was a renowned Danish botanist and herbalist. She authored one of the earliest botanical treatises in the Danish language, which documented the medicinal properties of various plants and herbs found in Scandinavia.
In the 17th century, Karise Pedersdatter (1620-1698) was a Norwegian folk artist and woodcarver known for her intricate designs and motifs. Her work adorned many churches and homes in the Telemark region of Norway, and her legacy as a skilled artisan has been celebrated in numerous exhibitions and publications.
Another notable figure with the name Karise was Karise Olsdatter (1745-1825), a Norwegian-born artist and painter who spent most of her life in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was renowned for her portraits of the Danish nobility and her landscape paintings, which captured the beauty of the Danish countryside.
While the name Karise has its roots in ancient Norse culture, it has endured through the centuries and has been embraced by families across Scandinavia and beyond, often as a way to honor their heritage and connect with their ancestral roots.
People
Karise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karise as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karise 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 15,579,743 US residents.
Is Karise a common name?
We classify Karise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 41.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karise most popular?
The single biggest year for Karise was 2008, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karise is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Karise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karise 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.