Clarissa
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Clarissa
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 is also given to boys.
Pronounced kluh-RIS-uh.
As of October 2026, Clarissa ranked #9035 in US births in 1994 SSA, peaked at #5921 in 1985.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #768 | 364 | 203.8 |
| 2015 | #696 | 408 | 228.6 |
| 2016 | #646 | 454 | 256.2 |
| 2017 | #680 | 431 | 249.6 |
| 2018 | #745 | 372 | 218.7 |
| 2019 | #747 | 378 | 225.2 |
| 2020 | #912 | 286 | 176.9 |
| 2021 | #949 | 278 | 169.4 |
| 2022 | #1,044 | 245 | 149.4 |
| 2023 | #1,158 | 209 | 130.3 |
| 2024 | #1,159 | 207 | 127.8 |
| 2025 | #1,114 | 212 | 131.9 |
World rankings
Clarissa for girls
Similar names
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Clarissa on lists
Famous Clarissas
- Clarissa "Clara" Harlowe BartonGirl
American nurse; founder of the Red Cross
- (Anne) Clarissa (SpencerGirl
Churchill) Eden, Countess of Avon
- Clarissa DavisGirl
American basketball player
- Clarissa Caroline DeckerGirl
6th wife of American Mormon leader Brigham Young
- Clarissa Cordelia "Clara" Moses CannonGirl
American Mormon counselor
- Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling ChunGirl
American Olympic wrestler
- Clarissa EshuisGirl
New Zealand field hockey player
- Clarissa WardGirl
American TV journalist
- Clarissa Miriam BowersGirl
America's Miss World 2017
- Agatha Mary Clarissa ChristieGirl
English novelist
Clarissa in pop culture
- Clarissa DallowayGirl
title character of "Mrs. Dalloway" (1925) by Virginia Woolf
- Clarissa DarlingGirl
main character on TV's "Clarissa Explains It All"
- Clarissa HarloweGirl
beautiful and saintly heroine of the novel "Clarissa; or, the History of a Young Lady" (1747,8) by Samuel Richardson
- Clarissa Adele "Clary" FairchildGirl
main character in Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" series
- Clarissa von ReckwitzGirl
main character in 1941 German film "Clarissa"
- Clarissa AlpertGirl
character on TV miniseries "Maneater"
- Clarissa Worthington HoweGirl
minor character in L. A. Meyer's "Bloody Jack" series
- Clarissa SaundersGirl
Mr. Smith's cynical secretary in film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "She called me Clarissa"
- ClarissaGirl
character on TV's "Reign"
- Clarissa SteinGirl
character on TV's "The Flash"
- The Honerable Clarissa CarterGirl
character in Enid Blyton's "Malory Towers" series