Girls' name · since 1961
Karissa
20,089 babies named Karissa in U.S. Social Security records since 1961, with the highest year being 1991. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,068 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,912 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,089
- born since 1961
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Karissa is the #2912 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 20,089 recorded since 1961.
Karissa has 20,089 recorded births among girls since 1961, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2912 as of the latest data, more common than 83% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1961 to 2025.
- #1,068 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,912 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 20,089 born since 1961
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Karissa ranks #1,068 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,912 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 20,089 born since 1961, peaking in the 1990s.
- #1,068 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,912 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,089
- born since 1961
- 1990s
- peak decade
Karissa's 20,089 recorded births place it above 98.52% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
48 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Karissa compares
20,089 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 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
Karissa's all-time total is 53x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Karissa | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 20,089 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 901 | 21 | 19,840 |
Karissa's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Karissa's full recorded timeline at 1993, 62% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 38% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1964, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1991 peak of 901 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Karissa popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1961–2025
- Peak year (1991)
- 901
- Annual births at peak, across 65 years of records
Karissa by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (7,446 births, 37% of the file).
1990s was Karissa's strongest decade.
7,446 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 37% of all-time use.
Karissa births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 122
1960s
122 births
- 1970s 987
1970s
987 births
- 1980s
1980s
3,810 births
- 1990s
1990s
7,446 births
- 2000s
2000s
5,097 births
- 2010s 2,184
2010s
2,184 births
- 2020s 443
2020s
443 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 7,446 births (37% of all-time use).
How Karissa 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 Karissa's total volume
Karissa by state
Where Karissa concentrates geographically, total births since 1961
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 2,965 | 14.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,491 | 7.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 971 | 4.8% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 847 | 4.2% |
| #5 | Florida | | 817 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 797 | 4.0% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 779 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 647 | 3.2% |
2,965 of 20,089 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 48 reporting states.
Karissa appears in 48 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Karissa? ▼
Where does Karissa sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Karissa most popular? ▼
Where is Karissa most popular? ▼
How long has the name Karissa been used? ▼
What names are similar to Karissa? ▼
What to do with Karissa's data
- Karissa's decade-level peak was the 1990s (7,446 total births); usage has since declined to 443 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Karissas (2,965 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Karissa
Nearby Names Like Karissa
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Karissa
Compare Karissa side by side: Karissa vs Karen Karissa vs Kara Karissa vs Karla
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Karissa
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Karissa: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1991)
Similar record span (~64 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 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, 1961–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
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 Karissa 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 August 2026.