Charis - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. (c)ha-ris, ch-ar-is ] The girl name Charis is pronounced as KEHRIHS- ^KEY. Charis is an English and German name of Greek origin. Derived from the word 'kharis' which has the meaning grace, kindness. Old forms of the name include the Old Greek Charis and the Old Greek Chariton. The name was borne in Greek mythology by one of the Three Graces, who were known for their charm and beauty. In the medieval period, the name was often associated with the goddess, or else with the original notion of charity. The variant Charissa was first created in literature, by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590, 1596). In the 17th century, during the vogue for 'virtue' names, the name was adopted by English Puritans for its associations with the Christian concept of 'grace'. In recent times, the appearance of a beautiful character bearing the name in the Georgette Heyer romance novel Frederica (1965) has increased its popularity.

Charis is a widely used name; it has 31 forms that are used in both English and other languages. English forms of Charis include Caressa, Caris, Carisia, Carissa, Carisse, Carrissa, Chareese, Charesa, Charese, Charice, Charisa, Charise, Charish, Charisha, Charissa, Charissee, Charista, Cherice, Cherise, Karis, Karisa, Karissa, Sharice, Sharise, Sherise, and Sherisse. Other English variants include the short form Chari, and the pet form Charie. Forms of the name used in other languages include the Spanish Carisa and the French Charisse. The pet form Karrisa (German) is another foreign variant.

Charis is uncommon as a baby girl name. It is not in the top 1000 names. Within the family of girl names directly related to Charis, the English Carissa was the most widely used in 2007.

Baby names that sound like Charis include the English Caragh, the English Caris, the English Carisse, the Welsh Carys, the English Chrissa, the English and Scottish Chrissie, the English Chrissy, the English Cressa, the English Cressy, the English Karis, the English Kryssi, the English Caressa, the Spanish Carisa, the English Carissa, the English Carrissa, the English Charissa, the English and German Chris, the English Cris, the Portuguese and Spanish Cruz, the English Karisa, the English Karissa, the German Karrisa, the German, English, and Scandinavian Kris, and the English Carisia.

^KEY: Pronunciation for Charis: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"

Popularity Trend
for Charis
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Charis
in 2007