| Charisse | Callista | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | grace | Most beautiful |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | shuh-REESS | kuh-LIS-tuh |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1914 |
| Peak year | 1971 (209) | 1999 (137) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 42 |
| Trend | Vintage | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Charisse | Callista |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 14 | 250 |
| 2010s | 65 | 567 |
| 2000s | 209 | 901 |
| 1990s | 521 | 424 |
| 1980s | 1,099 | 197 |
| 1970s | 1,441 | 44 |
| 1960s | 1,264 | 5 |
| 1950s | 635 | 28 |
| 1940s | 48 | 0 |
| 1930s | 0 | 6 |
| 1920s | 0 | 23 |
| 1910s | 0 | 40 |
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.
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 Charisse today: about 42 US babies were given the name Callista in 2025, compared with 0 named Charisse.
Charisse means grace (greek origin), while Callista means Most beautiful (greek origin).
In US records, Charisse first appears in 0 and Callista in 1914, so Charisse has the longer recorded history.