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Clarissa

Clarissa: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“bright, clear”
Origin
Latin
Say it
kluh-RISS-uh · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls

Elaborated form of Clara, from Latin clarus 'clear, bright, famous.' It was used in medieval and later European literature, including Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa.

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How popular is Clarissa?

202462.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Clarissa in 2024207

2024 rank#1,159 girls

Peak year1995

Total US babies since 188040,289

Clarissa is fading: recent use is about 60% of its level ten years before.

Names like Clarissa

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Claireclear, bright · French
  • Claraclear, bright, famous · Latin
  • Kiarabright, clear · Italian
  • Chiaraclear; bright · Italian
  • Clairabright; clear · Latin
  • Klaraclear, bright · Latin
  • Camilayoung ceremonial attendant · Latin
  • Lunamoon · Latin

Clarissa questions

What does the name Clarissa mean?

Clarissa means "bright, clear". It comes from Latin. Elaborated form of Clara, from Latin clarus 'clear, bright, famous.' It was used in medieval and later European literature, including Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa.

Is Clarissa a boy or girl name?

Clarissa is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Clarissa?

207 US babies were named Clarissa in 2024. Its peak year was 1995.

How do you pronounce Clarissa?

Clarissa is usually pronounced kluh-RISS-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.