| Bronte | Charisse | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Thunder | grace |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | BRON-tee | shuh-REESS |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1969 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1992 (131) | 1971 (209) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Bronte | Charisse |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 51 | 14 |
| 2010s | 106 | 65 |
| 2000s | 203 | 209 |
| 1990s | 548 | 521 |
| 1980s | 0 | 1,099 |
| 1970s | 0 | 1,441 |
| 1960s | 6 | 1,264 |
| 1950s | 0 | 635 |
| 1940s | 0 | 48 |
Brontë means “thunder” in Greek, famously the surname of the literary sisters.
Generally a French-styled elaboration of Greek 'charis' (grace, kindness). Some sources propose an unrelated derivation (a cherry/Latin 'ceresia' link, or a feminine of Charles), so the grace meaning is the most-cited but not undisputed.
Bronte and Charisse are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Bronte means Thunder (Greek origin), while Charisse means grace (greek origin).
In US records, Bronte first appears in 1969 and Charisse in 0, so Charisse has the longer recorded history.