girls' name ★ peaked 1995

Clarissa

Meaning Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,114 Trend ↓ Falling 37%

Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more.

Rank 2025
#1,114
among girls · ↑47 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
212
named Clarissa · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,581
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1995
1,201 babies
All-time total
40,505
#680 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Clarissa popularity over time

40,505 babies have been named Clarissa since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 133 – 133 13 – #466
1890s 221 – 221 22 +66% #525
1900s 252 – 252 25 +14% #534
1910s 596 – 596 60 +137% #711
1920s 663 – 663 66 +11% #808
1930s 512 – 512 51 -23% #878
1940s 680 – 680 68 +33% #898
1950s 1,402 – 1,402 140 +106% #738
1960s 2,323 – 2,323 232 +66% #597
1970s 3,473 – 3,473 347 +50% #478
1980s 6,374 11 6,385 639 +84% #314
1990s 10,592 10 10,602 1,060 +66% #237
2000s 7,558 – 7,558 756 -29% #325
2010s 4,266 – 4,266 427 -44% #550
2020s (to 2025) 1,439 – 1,439 240 -44% #911

Where Clarissa is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 197 0.12 outside top 500
2027 184 0.11 outside top 500
2028 175 0.11 outside top 500
2029 167 0.10 outside top 500
2030 160 0.10 outside top 500

Where Clarissa is most popular

Girls named Clarissa per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.142 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and Arizona.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Clarissa born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 263 0.313 +120%
Texas 241 0.300 +111%
Arizona 38 0.271 +91%
Florida 76 0.178 +25%
Illinois 40 0.175 +23%
Georgia 23 0.101 -29%
North Carolina 22 0.097 -32%
New York 38 0.096 -32%
Indiana 13 0.093 -35%
Oregon 6 0.092 -35%
Washington 12 0.083 -41%
Ohio 19 0.080 -44%
Virginia 12 0.070 -50%
Tennessee 10 0.063 -56%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -66%
New Jersey 8 0.044 -69%
Missouri 5 0.041 -71%
Massachusetts 5 0.041 -71%
Michigan 5 0.027 -81%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Clarissa

Clarissa is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,114 in 2025 with 212 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 40,505 American babies have been named Clarissa. Its peak came in 1995, when 1,201 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Clarissa stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Clarissa?

The median living Clarissa is about 30 years old; half are between 21 and 41. An estimated 37 thousand people named Clarissa are alive in the United States today.

median 30 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Clarissa year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 212 #1,114 – –
2024 207 #1,161 – –
2023 209 #1,158 – –
2022 246 #1,039 – –
2021 278 #949 – –
2020 287 #911 – –
2019 378 #747 – –
2018 372 #745 – –
2017 431 #680 – –
2016 455 #646 – –
2015 408 #697 – –
2014 364 #768 – –
2013 396 #705 – –
2012 453 #632 – –
2011 479 #598 – –
2010 530 #550 – –
2009 499 #605 – –
2008 546 #563 – –
2007 644 #502 – –
2006 675 #469 – –
2005 737 #419 – –
2004 852 #367 – –
2003 808 #376 – –
2002 870 #343 – –
2001 952 #325 – –
2000 975 #326 – –
1995 1,201 #239 – –
1990 853 #322 5 #8,336
1985 633 #367 6 #5,919
1980 423 #489 – –
1975 378 #489 – –
1970 321 #567 – –
1965 200 #695 – –
1960 204 #713 – –
1955 158 #755 – –
1950 91 #937 – –
1945 54 #1,064 – –
1940 59 #936 – –
1935 46 #1,019 – –
1930 51 #1,033 – –
1925 68 #895 – –
1920 81 #808 – –
1915 68 #798 – –
1910 27 #834 – –
1905 15 #973 – –
1900 20 #836 – –
1895 22 #661 – –
1890 25 #525 – –
1885 11 #662 – –
1880 10 #552 – –

Famous people named Clarissa

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Clarissa Pinkola Estés Mexican-American psychoanalyst and writer b. 1945 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Clarissa, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Clarissa?

The median living Clarissa is about 30 years old. Half of all living Clarissas are between 21 and 41 years old.

How many people named Clarissa are alive today?

An estimated 37 thousand people named Clarissa are alive in the United States, based on 40,505 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Clarissa mean?

Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more.

How popular is the name Clarissa in 2025?

Clarissa ranked #1,114 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 212 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Clarissa?

40,505 babies have been named Clarissa in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Clarissa most popular?

Clarissa peaked in 1995, when 1,201 newborns received the name.

Is Clarissa a boy or girl name?

Clarissa is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Clarissa rising or falling?

Clarissa is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Clarissa become more popular?

Clarissa is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 160 girls named Clarissa in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Clarissa?

Well-known people named Clarissa include Clarissa Pinkola Estés (writer).

Names like Clarissa

Names that sound and feel close to Clarissa: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Clarissa with similar names → More names starting with C →