| Charisse | Persephone | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | grace | Of debated meaning |
| Origin | greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | shuh-REESS | per-SEF-uh-nee |
| Syllables | 2 | 4 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1962 |
| Peak year | 1971 (209) | 2022 (429) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 372 |
| Trend | Vintage | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Charisse | Persephone |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 14 | 2,261 |
| 2010s | 65 | 1,887 |
| 2000s | 209 | 465 |
| 1990s | 521 | 141 |
| 1980s | 1,099 | 71 |
| 1970s | 1,441 | 97 |
| 1960s | 1,264 | 38 |
| 1950s | 635 | 0 |
| 1940s | 48 | 0 |
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.
Persephone is the Greek goddess of spring and the underworld; the meaning of her name is debated.
Persephone is more popular than Charisse today: about 372 US babies were given the name Persephone in 2025, compared with 0 named Charisse.
Charisse means grace (greek origin), while Persephone means Of debated meaning (Greek origin).
In US records, Charisse first appears in 0 and Persephone in 1962, so Charisse has the longer recorded history.