Clarissa

Elaboration of Clara

"bright, clear"

Clarissa Origin and Meaning

The name Clarissa is a girl's name of German, Latin origin meaning "bright, clear".

Clarissa, the daintier version of Claire, has a long literary history of its own, having been featured in the novels of Samuel Richardson, Charles Dickens, and Virginia Woolf—Clarissa was the title character of Mrs. Dalloway—not to mention the 1990s teen sitcom, Clarissa Explains it All.

Clarissa is a name definitely worth considering as an alternative to the overused Vanessa and Melissa. Appealing diminutives are Clarry and Claris.

Red Cross founder Clara Barton was born Clarissa.

Clarissa Rank in US Top 1000

# 946 in the US

Clarissa Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 830 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Clarissa

• 946 US 2021
• 830 Nameberry 2025
• 159 Unique 2024
• 453 Germany 2016

20 Names Similar to Clarissa

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Clarissa.

• Miranda
• Bianca
• Veronica
• Angelina
• Giselle
• Angelica
• Tatiana
• Valerie
• Jacqueline
• Cynthia
• Alexandria
• Felicia
• Camilla
• Celine
• Nadia
• Carmen
• Natasha
• Cassandra
• Vanessa
• Eileen

Famous People Named Clarissa

• Clarissa "Clara" Harlowe Barton American nurse; founder of the Red Cross
• (Anne) Clarissa (Spencer Churchill) Eden, Countess of Avon
• Clarissa Davis American basketball player
• Clarissa Caroline Decker 6th wife of American Mormon leader Brigham Young
• Clarissa Cordelia "Clara" Moses Cannon American Mormon counselor
• Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun American Olympic wrestler
• Clarissa Eshuis New Zealand field hockey player
• Clarissa Ward American TV journalist
• Clarissa Miriam Bowers America's Miss World 2017
• Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie English novelist

The name Clarissa in Pop Culture

• Clarissa Dalloway title character of "Mrs. Dalloway" (1925) by Virginia Woolf
• Clarissa Darling main character on TV's "Clarissa Explains It All"
• Clarissa Harlowe beautiful and saintly heroine of the novel "Clarissa; or, the History of a Young Lady" (1747,8) by Samuel Richardson
• Clarissa Adele "Clary" Fairchild main character in Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" series
• Clarissa von Reckwitz main character in 1941 German film "Clarissa"
• Clarissa Alpert character on TV miniseries "Maneater"
• Clarissa Worthington Howe minor character in L. A. Meyer's "Bloody Jack" series
• Clarissa Saunders Mr. Smith's cynical secretary in film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "She called me Clarissa"
• Clarissa character on TV's "Reign"
• Clarissa Stein character on TV's "The Flash"
• The Honerable Clarissa Carter character in Enid Blyton's "Malory Towers" series