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