Karrisa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the name "Carissa".
Name Census estimates that about 235 living Americans carry the first name Karrisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karrisa today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karrisa births was 1990 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karrisa. 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.
People living today
235
~ 1 in 1,458,529 Americans
Peak year
1990
18 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,011
Tracked since 1977
Census
Karrisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 302 people with the first name Karrisa, which placed it at #29,353 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
#29,353
National first-name rank
People counted
302
302 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karrisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karrisa is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) and Black (10.9%). 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 Karrisa 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 Karrisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.6% · 195
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 37
- Black or African American10.9% · 33
- Two or more races5.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 6
Popularity
Karrisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karrisa from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 117 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Karrisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karrisa 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 Karrisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karrisas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karrisa
The name Karrisa is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, with its roots traced back to ancient India. It is a variation of the name Karisha, which was derived from the Sanskrit word "Karisha," meaning "ray" or "beam."
In ancient Hindu texts, the name Karrisa was often associated with radiance, light, and purity. It was a popular name among the Brahmin community and was considered auspicious for newborn girls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karrisa dates back to the 6th century BCE. It is found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, where a minor character bears this name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who carried the name Karrisa. One of the most famous was Karrisa Devi, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 12th century CE. Her works were widely celebrated and influenced many subsequent writers and scholars.
Another prominent figure was Karrisa Bai, a Marathi poetess and philanthropist born in 1825. She was known for her contributions to the literary and social reforms of her time.
In the 20th century, Karrisa Subramaniam (1912-1988) was a distinguished Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She played a pivotal role in reviving and promoting the traditional Bharatanatyam dance form.
Moving to the West, Karrisa Browning (1919-1999) was an American author and journalist who wrote extensively on social issues and was a vocal advocate for women's rights.
Lastly, Karrisa Samantha Jones (born 1968) is a British actress best known for her role in the popular television series "Sex and the City," where she portrayed the character of the same name.
While the name Karrisa has its origins in Sanskrit and ancient India, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity across various regions, making it a name with a rich and diverse history.
People
Karrisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karrisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karrisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karrisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karrisa 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 1,458,529 US residents.
Is Karrisa a common name?
We classify Karrisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 245 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karrisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Karrisa was 1990, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karrisa is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karrisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 302 people with the name Karrisa, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,353 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 Karrisa 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 Karrisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karrisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 300 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Karrisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karrisa is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) and Black (10.9%). 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 Karrisa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Karrisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (195 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 Karrisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karrisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karrisa 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 Karrisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karrisa 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 Karrisa 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 are named Karrisa?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Karrisa at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.