Charis
Feminine · “grace”
Charis is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 4,347 girls against 68 boys since 1880.
Charis is the Greek word for grace, and it is the root of an unusually large family of English words and names: charity, charisma, Charissa, and the Graces of Greek myth themselves.
How old is the name Charis?
Charis first appears in US birth records in 1924 — 101 years ago. The typical Charis alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 4,100 people named Charis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charis most popular?
Charis peaked in 2006, reaching #1664 nationally. Today it ranks #3130, 1,466 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From charis to Charis
The story of Charis
Charis is a common noun in classical Greek and becomes a key term in the New Testament, where it is the standard word for grace. That double life — mythological and scriptural — kept it visible in English through the Renaissance, and it appears as a given name in English-speaking countries from the seventeenth century onward, always in modest numbers. It is also used in modern Greek, and it reaches American records from both directions.
Meaning
grace, kindness, favor
Greek charis covers a wide field — a favor freely given, the beauty that draws affection, and gratitude for both; the plural Charites names the three goddesses English calls the Graces.
How the name formed
- charis
- Charis
Related forms: Charis · Charissa · Chara
Pronouncing Charis
KAR-iss
Two syllables, first stressed, with a hard c as in Greek. Many English speakers say SHAR-iss instead.
Nicknames for Charis
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
- 1924
- Most girls named
- 2006127 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1664reached in 2006
- Change vs 2023
- −1.9%51 in 2025, from 52
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.
Charis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Charis in Greek — transliteration
- Charissa in English — related form
- Chara in Greek — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Virginia.
Chariss among us
people named Charis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 31,515 born in 2025 was named Charis
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tandra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Charis's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tandra climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tandra's path sketches the road Charis is walking now.
Charis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Charis is headed
Charis should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Charis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Charis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a documented life in both Greek myth and the New Testament.
- Six letters, two syllables, and simple to write.
- It is the root of familiar English words, so the meaning can be shown rather than explained.
- The first consonant is genuinely contested in English — KAR-iss and SHAR-iss are both used — so she will introduce herself twice.
- Charis, Karis and Charissa all appear in the records and will be confused.
- It reads as a Christian name to a large part of the American audience.
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What they receive
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Charis
Feminine · #3130 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Chariss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,100 people named Charis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charis in 2025?
- Charis ranks #3130 among US girl names in 2025, with 51 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Charis?
- About 1 in every 31,515 US girls born in 2025 was named Charis — 51 in all.
- Will my child share the name Charis with classmates?
- Charis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Charis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Janylah#3130 · Robbie#3130 · Lillyanna#3130 · Bayla#3130 · Karmyn#3130 · Advika#3130 · Samari#3130 · Precious#3130
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Charis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Charis and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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