Total births
28,447
Girls' name · since 1949
Carissa
28,447 babies named Carissa in U.S. Social Security records since 1949, with the highest year being 1992. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #3479
- among girls today
- 28,447
- born since 1949
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 80%
- more common than other girls
Carissa currently ranks #3479 among girls' names in America, with 28,447 babies recorded since 1949.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carissa has been recorded 28,447 times among girls since 1949, currently ranked #3479 nationally and more common than 80% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1990s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1949 to 2025.
- #3479 among girls today
- 28,447 born since 1949
- 1990s peak decade
- 80% more common than other girls
Data updated Jul 2026
The verdict
Carissa is currently the #3479 girls' name in America, more common than 80% of girls - 28,447 born since 1949, peaking in the 1990s.
- #3479
- among girls today
- 28,447
- born since 1949
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 80%
- more common than other girls
Carissa vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#3479
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 80% of names given to girls today.
1990s
Peak decade
31% of everyone ever named Carissa was born in this single decade.
1992
Single peak year
1,155 babies were named Carissa in 1992 - its busiest year on record.
How Carissa compares
28,447 Top 5% higher than 95% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Carissa's all-time total is 74x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carissa | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 28,447 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,155 | 48 | 19,840 |
Carissa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Carissa's full recorded timeline at 1988, 65% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 35% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1949, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1992 peak of 1,155 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Carissa at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1992
Current rank
#3,479
Active since
1949
Carissa popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1949–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 1,155
- Annual births at peak, across 77 years of records
Carissa popularity over time - boys
12 total births recorded since 1985 (Carissa as boys' name)
Carissa by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Carissa's strongest decade.
8,820 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 31% of all-time use.
Carissa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1940s 5
1940s
5 births
- 1950s 71
1950s
71 births
- 1960s 505
1960s
505 births
- 1970s
1970s
3,635 births
- 1980s
1980s
7,627 births
- 1990s
1990s
8,820 births
- 2000s
2000s
5,568 births
- 2010s 1,857
2010s
1,857 births
- 2020s 359
2020s
359 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 8,820 births (31% of all-time use).
How Carissa compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Carissa's total volume
Carissa vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Carissa by state
Where Carissa concentrates geographically, total births since 1949
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 4,064 | 14.3% |
| #2 | Texas | | 2,041 | 7.2% |
| #3 | New York | | 1,658 | 5.8% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 1,334 | 4.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 1,258 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 1,182 | 4.2% |
| #7 | Florida | | 1,172 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 953 | 3.4% |
California share of Carissa's total US births 14.3%
Even split
4,064 of 28,447 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 49 reporting states.
Carissa appears in 49 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Carissa? ▼
Carissa has been given to 28,447 babies in the U.S. since 1949, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #3479 as of the latest data. 1,155 babies were born in 1992, its single highest year.
When was Carissa most popular? ▼
Carissa was most popular in the 1990s decade with 8,820 total births. The single peak year was 1992.
Where is Carissa most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Carissa are California (4,064 births), Texas (2,041 births), New York (1,658 births).
How long has the name Carissa been used? ▼
Records for Carissa go back to 1949, giving 77 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Carissa? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Carol, Carolyn, Carrie, Caroline, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Carissa's data
- Carissa's decade-level peak was the 1990s (8,820 total births); usage has since declined to 359 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Carissas (4,064 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carissa
Nearby Names Like Carissa
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carissa
Carol Girl
#2639 816,928 births
Carolyn Girl
#1160 556,777 births
Carrie Girl
#3013 266,350 births
Caroline Girl
#92 250,410 births
Carla Girl
#1009 150,390 births
Compare Carissa side by side: Carissa vs Carol Carissa vs Carolyn Carissa vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carissa
Anamaria #3478
3,225 births · Peak 2001
Magaly #3480
5,288 births · Peak 2001
Aveline #3477
1,266 births · Peak 2016
Kourtney #3481
13,925 births · Peak 1990
Azucena #3476
3,783 births · Peak 2001
Lenni #3482
341 births · Peak 2023
Rachell #3475
3,976 births · Peak 1982
Tali #3483
1,463 births · Peak 2023
Data Sources
Data as of July 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1949–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Carissa: #3479 Girls' Name - 28,447 Births, Peak 1992." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/carissa. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Carissa draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.