Charis
Feminine form of grace or loveliness in Greek origin.
Name Census estimates that about 4,046 living Americans carry the first name Charis. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Charis today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charis births was 2006 (133 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charis. 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 Charis with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Charis is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 60 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.0K
~ 1 in 84,714 Americans
Peak year
2006
133 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,885
Tracked since 1924
Census
Charis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,937 people with the first name Charis, which placed it at #4,651 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
#4,651
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,937 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charis is White at 60.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%). 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 Charis 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 Charis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.1% · 2,368
- Black or African American17.1% · 674
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.8% · 387
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 243
- Two or more races6.1% · 242
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 23
Gender
Gender distribution for Charis
Charis leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 60 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Charis as a male name
- Ranked #6,213 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (14 births)
Charis as a female name
- Ranked #2,885 in 2024
- 57 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (127 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charis leans strongly female. 3,805 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 129 male bearers (3.3%).
Popularity
Charis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charis from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 987 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Charis remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charis 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 Charis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Charis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Charis, while Wisconsin, Oregon, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Charis
The name Charis originates from the Ancient Greek language and culture. It was derived from the Greek word 'charis' which means grace, kindness, and life. The name first appeared in ancient Greek mythology, where Charis was one of the Charites, the three goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility.
Charis was a popular name among ancient Greeks, particularly in Athens and other major city-states. It was often given to girls as a symbol of grace and beauty. The name can be found in various ancient Greek texts, including works by renowned philosophers and playwrights such as Aristotle and Euripides.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Charis dates back to the 5th century BC. A famous bearer of the name was Charis of Samos, a renowned ancient Greek painter who lived around 480 BC. She was known for her exceptional skill in capturing the beauty and grace of her subjects.
In the 4th century BC, another notable Charis was Charis of Ephesus, a philosopher and follower of Plato. She was highly respected for her intellectual prowess and contributions to the field of philosophy.
During the Hellenistic period, Charis was the name of a renowned courtesan and companion of Alexander the Great. She was known for her wit, intelligence, and beauty, and is mentioned in various historical accounts of Alexander's reign.
In the 2nd century AD, Charis of Miletus was a prominent Greek poet and philosopher. She was known for her lyrical works and her teachings on the nature of love and beauty.
Another notable bearer of the name was Charis of Constantinople, a 6th century Byzantine princess and daughter of Emperor Justin I. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and was highly regarded in the Byzantine court.
While the name Charis has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over the centuries. The name is still widely used today, particularly in countries with a strong Greek influence or heritage.
People
Charis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charis 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
Charis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,046 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charis 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 84,714 US residents.
Is Charis a common name?
We classify Charis as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,354 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charis most popular?
The single biggest year for Charis was 2006, when 133 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charis is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,937 people with the name Charis, or 1.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,651 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 Charis 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 Charis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charis leans strongly female. 3,805 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 129 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Charis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charis is White at 60.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%). 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 Charis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Charis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.1% (2,368 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 Charis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charis a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Charis 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 Charis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charis 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 Charis 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 Charis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.