Carlissa
Feminine
Carlissa joins a Germanic front to an ending borrowed from Latin women's names, and nothing records who first made the join. The officer whose title supplies that front is remembered chiefly for a knitted garment and a catastrophe.
How old is the name Carlissa?
Carlissa first appears in US birth records in 1959 — 66 years ago. The typical Carlissa alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 600 people named Carlissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carlissa most popular?
Carlissa peaked in 1966, reaching #3558 nationally. See the whole 1966 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Carlissa
Three garments are named after one bad hour in the Crimea. The cardigan is named after the Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade and whose officers wore knitted waistcoats against the cold. The raglan sleeve — cut in one piece running to the collar, with no shoulder seam — is named after Lord Raglan, the commander whose ambiguous order sent the brigade the wrong way, and who had lost an arm at Waterloo, which is why the sleeve was designed as it was. And the balaclava is named after the village the battle was fought beside. The charge itself killed or wounded a large part of the brigade for nothing, and what survives of it in daily English is knitwear.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The front is the Germanic name that stands behind Carl and Charles; the -issa ending is a decorative element American naming attaches freely. No source documents the combination or assigns it a meaning.
Pronouncing Carlissa
kar-LISS-uh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The doubled s keeps the sound sharp rather than letting it slide toward a z.
Nicknames for Carlissa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1959
- Most girls named
- 198927 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3558reached in 1966
- Change vs 2014
- −37.5%5 in 2016, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Carlissas among us
people named Carlissa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Carlissa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both cuts produce short forms and each is a standing name.
- Middle stress on three syllables is the easiest rhythm English offers.
- The spelling is phonetic and survives being heard once.
- Carlisa, Karlissa and Charlissa will all be written for it.
- It reads as a build rather than as an inherited name.
- Nothing records the join, so the meaning question has a short answer.
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Carlissa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Carlissas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Carlissa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Carlissa in 2025?
- Carlissa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Carlissa with classmates?
- Carlissa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Carlissa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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