Girl · Latin
Clarissa
Say it: kluh-RISS-uh
Meaning
Latinized form of Clarice, from Latin clarus 'clear, bright, famous'.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Richardson's novel Clarissa (1748) made the name fashionable.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 1990s
In the United States
- 39,343 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1995, about 1 in 1,500 girls
- 285 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| Italian | Clarissa |
|---|---|
| Latin | Clarissa |
Famous bearers
- Clarissa Harlowe, heroine of Richardson's novel
- Clara 'Clarissa' Barton, American nurse
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Well-known works of literature
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.