Klaryssa
A feminine name derived from Clara, meaning "bright" or "shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 204 living Americans carry the first name Klaryssa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Klaryssa today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Klaryssa births was 1995 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Klaryssa. 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
204
~ 1 in 1,680,168 Americans
Peak year
1995
14 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,806
Tracked since 1990
Census
Klaryssa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 178 people with the first name Klaryssa, which placed it at #41,266 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
#41,266
National first-name rank
People counted
178
178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klaryssa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Klaryssa is Hispanic at 66.3%. The next largest groups are White (25.8%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.3% · 118
- White25.8% · 46
- Black or African American3.4% · 6
- Two or more races3.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Popularity
Klaryssa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Klaryssa from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 98 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Klaryssa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Klaryssas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Klaryssa
The name Klaryssa is a relatively modern variant of the name Clarissa, which has its origins in the Latin name Clarissia. This name is derived from the Latin word "clarus," meaning "bright" or "clear." The name likely emerged during the Roman era, as Latin names became widespread across the Roman Empire.
The earliest recorded use of the name Clarissa dates back to the 3rd century AD, when it was used by St. Clarissa, a Christian martyr who lived in the Roman province of Pannonia (modern-day Hungary and surrounding areas). Her feast day is celebrated on October 8th in the Catholic Church, and she is regarded as a patron saint of seamstresses and embroiderers.
In the Middle Ages, the name Clarissa gained popularity among religious orders, particularly the Order of Poor Clares, founded by St. Clare of Assisi in the 13th century. St. Clare, whose birth name was Chiara, adopted the name Clarissa to reflect her dedication to living a life of poverty and simplicity.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Clarissa was the English writer Clarissa Harlowe, the protagonist of Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel "Clarissa" published in 1748. The novel is considered one of the longest novels in the English language and is a significant work of the 18th century.
Another famous Clarissa was Clarissa Darling, born in 1870, who was an English political activist and a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century. She was instrumental in the formation of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and was imprisoned several times for her activism.
In the world of literature, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, born in 1945, is a renowned author, psychoanalyst, and storyteller. Her book "Women Who Run With the Wolves" is a seminal work exploring the importance of myths and stories in understanding the feminine psyche.
While the name Klaryssa is a more recent variant, it retains the essence of the original Latin name, reflecting brightness and clarity. The unique spelling adds a modern twist to this ancient name, making it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with historical significance and a fresh, contemporary feel.
People
Klaryssa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Klaryssa 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
Klaryssa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Klaryssa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 204 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Klaryssa 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 1,680,168 US residents.
Is Klaryssa a common name?
We classify Klaryssa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 208 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Klaryssa most popular?
The single biggest year for Klaryssa was 1995, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Klaryssa is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Klaryssa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 178 people with the name Klaryssa, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,266 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 Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Klaryssa appears almost entirely female. Of the 170 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Klaryssa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Klaryssa is Hispanic at 66.3%. The next largest groups are White (25.8%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Klaryssa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Klaryssa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (118 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 Klaryssa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Klaryssa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa 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 Klaryssa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.