Clarisse

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Clarisse is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name1.7K records spelled Clarisse4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar, United States

  Languages: Indonesian, Malagasy, Malay

  Also written Clarissé

58 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Clarisse is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Sainte Claire (1193 ?-1253) fonda l’ordre des clarisses au XIII e siècle sur le modèle de la règle franciscaine.

  as a name·2500 noms propres devenus communs : dictionnaire étymologique (éponymes, antonomases et hypallages)

• In French, Dérivé de Clara/Claire, du latin clarus, « clair, brillant ». Fête: 11 août (sainte Claire).

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Du latin clarus, « clair » ; forme dérivée de Claire.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Du latin clarus, « clair »; fête le 12 août.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Latin clarus « clear, bright ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 120 years between 1899–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Agatha Christieb. 1890GBnot in their usual nameEnglish mystery and detective writer (1890–1976)
• Rosalind Hicksb. 1919GBnot in their usual nameAgatha Christie's daughter (1919–2004)
• Clarissa Edenb. 1920GBnot in their usual nameBritish countess and memoirist (1920–2021)
• Clarissa Pinkola Estésb. 1945USnot in their usual nameAmerican psychoanalyst and writer
• Clarissa Burtb. 1959USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Leonora Mianob. 1973CMnot in their usual nameCameroonian writer
• Clarissa Wardb. 1980GBnot in their usual nameAmerican journalist
• Clarissa Chunb. 1981USnot in their usual nameAmerican sport wrestler
• Clarisse Agbegnenoub. 1992FRFrench and Togolese judoka
• Alice Mertonb. 1993DEnot in their usual nameGerman-Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1993)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 560 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Clarisse?

We estimate roughly 59 thousand people bear Clarisse (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Clarisse have the most bearers?

We estimate about 30 thousand people bear Clarisse in France, more than in any other country in our records.

Where is Clarisse most common?

Clarisse is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 2.3 thousand people carrying it.

How common is Clarisse compared with other names?

In Paraguay, Clarisse is the 945th most common given name of 19,021 given names recorded there.

Is Clarisse a male or female name?

Clarisse is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Clarisse mean?

Recorded meaning: French form from Latin clarus, via Clara/Clarissa, meaning 'bright, clear'.