Carlisa
A feminine name derived from the Germanic name "Carl" meaning "manly".
Name Census estimates that about 921 living Americans carry the first name Carlisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Carlisa today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Carlisa births was 1990 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Carlisa. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Carlisa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
921
~ 1 in 372,155 Americans
Peak year
1990
39 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2014 SSA rank
#17,069
Tracked since 1957
Census
Carlisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 821 people with the first name Carlisa, which placed it at #14,378 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
#14,378
National first-name rank
People counted
821
821 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carlisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carlisa is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Carlisa 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 Carlisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.4% · 603
- White13.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 50
- Two or more races5.4% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
Popularity
Carlisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Carlisa from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 255 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Carlisa 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 Carlisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Carlisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Ohio, Illinois, Georgia recorded the most babies named Carlisa, while Mississippi, Florida, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Carlisa
The name Carlisa finds its roots in the Germanic languages, with its origins tracing back to the 8th century. It is a feminine form of the male name Carlisle, which is derived from the Old English words "caer" meaning fort or city, and "liss" meaning courtyard or enclosure. This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with individuals living within or near fortified settlements.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Carlisa can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical record mentions a woman named Carlisa who resided in the village of Bourne, Lincolnshire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Carlisa gained popularity among noble families in various European regions. In 1243, Carlisa of Anjou, a French noblewoman, was born into the prestigious House of Anjou. She later married into the influential Lusignan dynasty and became a prominent figure in the court of King Henry III of England.
In the 15th century, Carlisa Borgia, an Italian noblewoman and member of the infamous Borgia family, made her mark in history. Born in 1492, she was known for her political acumen and played a significant role in the intrigues of the Renaissance period.
The name Carlisa also found its way into religious texts. In the 17th century, Sister Carlisa Maria de la Cruz, a Spanish nun and mystic, gained recognition for her spiritual writings and devotion to the Catholic faith. She was born in 1615 and passed away in 1678.
Another notable figure was Carlisa von Klenau, a German painter and printmaker born in 1768. She was renowned for her intricate etchings and engravings depicting landscapes and architectural scenes. Her artistic contributions were celebrated throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
These examples illustrate the diverse cultural backgrounds and historical contexts in which the name Carlisa has been used over the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and significance across various regions and eras.
People
Carlisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Carlisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 921 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Carlisa 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 372,155 US residents.
Is Carlisa a common name?
We classify Carlisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,001 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Carlisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Carlisa was 1990, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Carlisa is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Carlisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 821 people with the name Carlisa, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,378 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 Carlisa 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 Carlisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Carlisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 829 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Carlisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Carlisa is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Carlisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Carlisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.4% (603 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 Carlisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Carlisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Carlisa 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 Carlisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Carlisa 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 Carlisa 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 the name Carlisa?
See how many people have the name Carlisa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.