Krissa
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Greek name "Chryse".
Name Census estimates that about 859 living Americans carry the first name Krissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Krissa today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Krissa births was 1970 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Krissa. 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
859
~ 1 in 399,016 Americans
Peak year
1970
32 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2016 SSA rank
#11,368
Tracked since 1962
Census
Krissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 902 people with the first name Krissa, which placed it at #13,398 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
#13,398
National first-name rank
People counted
902
902 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Krissa is White at 77.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Krissa 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 Krissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.1% · 695
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 68
- Two or more races5.1% · 46
- Black or African American4.2% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 22
Popularity
Krissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Krissa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 237 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Krissa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Krissa 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 Krissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Krissas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Krissa
The name Krissa is believed to have originated from ancient Greek roots, tracing its linguistic heritage back to the classical era of the Mediterranean region. It is a feminine form derived from the Greek word "krissos," which translates to "golden" or "gilded." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been associated with concepts of radiance, prosperity, and high status within ancient Greek culture.
The earliest known references to the name Krissa can be found in various historical texts and records from the Hellenic period, which spanned from the 8th to the 4th century BCE. It is mentioned in several ancient Greek literary works, including poetic verses and plays, often used as a descriptor for characters or settings that embodied a sense of richness and splendor.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Krissa was a celebrated poet and philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE on the island of Lesbos. While little is known about her life, her works were widely acclaimed during her time and are cited by later Greek scholars as influential contributions to the literary and philosophical traditions of the era.
In the realm of mythology, the name Krissa is associated with a minor goddess in the Greek pantheon, often depicted as an attendant or companion to the more prominent deities. This mythological connection further reinforces the name's association with concepts of beauty, radiance, and divine grace within the cultural context of ancient Greece.
As the Greek civilization expanded and influenced neighboring regions, the name Krissa also found its way into various cultures and societies across the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions. Historical records from the Byzantine Empire, spanning from the 4th to the 15th century CE, include references to individuals bearing the name, often from prominent families or social circles.
Another notable figure named Krissa was a renowned Byzantine scholar and poet who lived during the 12th century CE. Her works were highly regarded for their elegant use of language and their exploration of philosophical and spiritual themes, reflecting the intellectual and cultural traditions of the Byzantine era.
While the name Krissa may have experienced periods of lesser popularity or regional variations throughout history, its enduring presence in various cultural and historical contexts serves as a testament to its symbolic significance and the lasting influence of ancient Greek culture on the modern world.
People
Krissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Krissa 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
Krissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Krissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 859 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Krissa 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 399,016 US residents.
Is Krissa a common name?
We classify Krissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 907 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Krissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Krissa was 1970, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Krissa is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Krissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 902 people with the name Krissa, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,398 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 Krissa 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 Krissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Krissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 902 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 Krissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Krissa is White at 77.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Krissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Krissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.1% (695 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 Krissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Krissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Krissa 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 Krissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Krissa 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 Krissa 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 Krissa as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Krissa, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.