Charisse
Feminine · “grace”
Charis is the Greek word for grace, and it is behind more English words than most people would guess: charisma, charity, eucharist. The three Graces of classical art were the Charites, and their job was to make things delightful — the whole idea of gracefulness in the Western tradition runs back through this one word.
How old is the name Charisse?
Charisse first appears in US birth records in 1946 — 79 years ago. The typical Charisse alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 4,900 people named Charisse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Charisse most popular?
Charisse peaked in 1971, reaching #727 nationally. See the whole 1971 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From charis to Charisse
The story of Charisse
Charis was in occasional English use as a name from the seventeenth century, when Greek names were being taken up alongside Hebrew ones, and it produced Charissa in literature. The French-looking -isse ending on this version is doing what a great many American endings do, borrowing a look without a grammar — French would spell the name Charisse and say it sha-REESS, which is close to what English does anyway. The result is a Greek abstraction dressed as a French name and used as an American one.
Meaning
grace; favor
Greek charis means grace, favor, kindness or the delight something gives — it covers both the giving and the pleasure taken in it, which English needs several words for. Charisma is a gift of grace; eucharist is a good giving of thanks. The Charites, three goddesses of beauty and festivity, are the Graces of later European art. The derivation of the name from the word is not disputed.
How the name formed
- charis
- Charissa
- Charisse
Related forms: χάρις · Charis
Pronouncing Charisse
shuh-REESE
shuh-REESE, two syllables, stress at the back, the ending a crisp s. Greek says the source word KHA-riss with the weight at the front and a throat consonant English does not have, so the name has moved a considerable distance from it.
Nicknames for Charisse
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
- 1946
- Most girls named
- 1971209 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #727reached in 1971
- Change vs 2020
- −25.0%6 in 2021, 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.
Charisse in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- χάρις in Greek — transliteration
- Charis in Greek — related form
Charisses among us
people named Charisse 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
Charisse 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
- The Greek behind it is one of the richest single words in the language and easy to explain.
- Rissa works as a short form and stands on its own.
- The stress at the end gives it a clean finish against a front-stressed surname.
- Charise, Charisse and Cherise are all in use, so the spelling is dictated every time.
- The ch is French here and gets read as English by first-time readers.
- It is closely tied to the middle of the last century and dates a person fairly precisely.
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Charisse
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Charisses are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,900 people named Charisse are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Charisse in 2025?
- Charisse is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Charisse with classmates?
- Charisse 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 Charisse? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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