| Charis | Callista | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | grace | Most beautiful |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KAIR-iss | kuh-LIS-tuh |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1914 |
| Peak year | 2006 (127) | 1999 (137) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 42 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Charis | Callista |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 349 | 250 |
| 2010s | 895 | 567 |
| 2000s | 971 | 901 |
| 1990s | 605 | 424 |
| 1980s | 571 | 197 |
| 1970s | 457 | 44 |
| 1960s | 211 | 5 |
| 1950s | 128 | 28 |
| 1940s | 95 | 0 |
| 1930s | 11 | 6 |
| 1920s | 54 | 23 |
| 1910s | 0 | 40 |
From Greek 'charis' (χάρις) meaning grace, kindness, or charm. In Greek myth the Charites (Graces) were goddesses of grace and beauty; the root also underlies the word charisma.
From Greek kallistos/kallistē 'most beautiful', the superlative of kalos, from kallos 'beauty'. Kalliste was a title of the goddess Artemis; the mythological nymph Kallisto bears the same root.
Callista is more popular than Charis today: about 42 US babies were given the name Callista in 2025, compared with 0 named Charis.
Charis means grace (greek origin), while Callista means Most beautiful (greek origin).
In US records, Charis first appears in 0 and Callista in 1914, so Charis has the longer recorded history.