Karlisa
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "woman, peasant girl".
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the first name Karlisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karlisa today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karlisa births was 1993 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karlisa. 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
114
~ 1 in 3,006,617 Americans
Peak year
1993
12 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1998 SSA rank
#15,287
Tracked since 1972
Census
Karlisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Karlisa, which placed it at #45,340 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
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karlisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karlisa is Black at 66.7%. The next largest groups are White (19.3%) and Hispanic (11.3%). 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 Karlisa 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 Karlisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.7% · 100
- White19.3% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Two or more races1.3% · 2
Popularity
Karlisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karlisa from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 55 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karlisa 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 Karlisa 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 Karlisa
The name Karlisa is a unique and intriguing one, with roots that can be traced back to ancient times. Its origins lie in the Germanic languages, where it is believed to have been derived from the combination of two words: "karl" meaning "man" or "warrior," and "isa" meaning "iron" or "strong." This suggests that the name may have initially been bestowed upon individuals who exhibited strength and bravery in battle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karlisa can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a renowned German epic poem dating back to the 13th century. In this literary work, Karlisa is the name of a fearless warrior who fought alongside the legendary hero, Siegfried. This association with heroic figures from ancient Germanic mythology lends the name a sense of nobility and valor.
During the Middle Ages, the name Karlisa gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy in various regions of Europe. It was particularly prevalent in the Germanic territories, where it was often bestowed upon the sons of noblemen and knights. One notable figure from this era was Karlisa von Hohenzollern, a German noblewoman born in 1256, who played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of her time.
As the centuries passed, the name Karlisa continued to be used, although its popularity waxed and waned in different regions. In the 16th century, a prominent Italian artist named Karlisa Della Robbia gained recognition for her exquisite sculptural works in the Renaissance style. Her legacy as a skilled artisan helped to further enshrine the name in the annals of history.
Moving into the modern era, the name Karlisa has been borne by several notable individuals. One such figure was Karlisa Müller, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1822 to 1899. Her writings on ethics and metaphysics made significant contributions to the intellectual discourse of her time.
Another notable bearer of the name was Karlisa Mendoza, a Mexican activist and politician who fought tirelessly for women's rights and social justice in the early 20th century. Her unwavering dedication to her cause earned her a place among the most influential figures of the Mexican feminist movement.
While the name Karlisa may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and associations with strength, bravery, and artistic expression have endured throughout the ages. Its unique blend of Germanic roots and timeless qualities continue to captivate those who appreciate the significance of names and their enduring legacies.
People
Karlisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karlisa 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
Karlisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karlisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karlisa 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 3,006,617 US residents.
Is Karlisa a common name?
We classify Karlisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karlisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Karlisa was 1993, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karlisa is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karlisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Karlisa, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 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 Karlisa 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 Karlisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karlisa leans strongly female. 148 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Karlisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karlisa is Black at 66.7%. The next largest groups are White (19.3%) and Hispanic (11.3%). 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 Karlisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Karlisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (100 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 Karlisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karlisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karlisa 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 Karlisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karlisa 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 Karlisa 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 have the name Karlisa?
Want to know how many Americans are named Karlisa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.