Charis

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Charis

Gender: Feminine
Language: English
Etymology:
Charis comes from a Greek word meaning “Grace.”

History:
In post-Reformation England, Puritans often gave their children “quality” names, nouns that represented a particular virtue. For example, they named their daughters “Faith,” “Hope,” “Charity,” “Constance,” or “Grace.”

Highly educated Puritans, those familiar with dead languages like Hebrew, Latin, or Greek, would occasionally give their children “translated” forms of these quality names, like “Charis,” the Greek form of “Grace.”

Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) coined the Latinate feminine form Charissa in The Faerie Queen (written in the late 1500s) for a character that represents charity and patience.

Pronunciation: chair-iss.

Alternates: Caris, Carisa, Carissa, Karissa, Charisa, Charissa.
French: Charisse, Charise.
Greek: Kharis.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.009 % named Carissa
0.004 % named Charisse
0.003 % named Charissa
0.002 % named Charise
0.002 % named Carisa
0.001 % named Charis

Popularity of Charis:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-2000: N/A

Popularity of Charisse:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1970: N/A
1970-1980: 839th most popular.
1980-2000: N/A

Popularity of Carisa:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1970: N/A
1970-1980: 926th most popular.
1980-2000: N/A

Popularity of Charissa:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1970: N/A
1970-1980: 961st most popular.
1980-2000: N/A