Is Karissa in the Bible?

No one named Karissa appears in the Bible. Karissa is a spelling of Charissa, a name made from the Greek word charis, “grace.” That word is common in the New Testament, where it names the grace of God.

What does Karissa mean?

Behind the Name lists Karissa as a variant of Charissa, and Charissa as an elaborated form of Charis, a Greek name taken from the word charis, “grace, kindness.” The K spelling follows the sound. In names that come from Greek, Ch stands for the Greek letter chi and is pronounced K in English, so Karissa, Carissa and Charissa are three spellings of one name, all said ka-RISS-a.

Karissa meaning in the Bible

Karissa has no meaning in the Bible, because the name never occurs there. Its root word occurs often. Paul uses it when he tells how he asked the Lord three times to take away what he calls a thorn in the flesh. The answer he records is: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Peter puts both words from the root into one sentence: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). “Gift” there is charisma, and “grace” is charis.

Does Karissa have a Hebrew meaning?

No. Karissa comes from Greek and has no Hebrew form. Its root word does have a Hebrew counterpart. The Hebrew word for favor or grace is chen, and the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that the first Christians read, renders it with charis. In Genesis 6:8 the Hebrew says that Noah found chen in the eyes of the Lord, and the Septuagint says that he found charin, a form of charis. The King James Version translates the verse, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Luke uses the same expression when the angel Gabriel tells Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). The Greek word translated “favor” is again charin.

How common is Karissa?

Karissa first entered the list of the 1,000 most common names for American girls in 1977, at 965th. It rose through the 1980s, reached its highest rank, 306th, in 1991, and left the top 1,000 after 2013. Carissa was the more common spelling through the 1980s and 1990s and peaked at 240th in 1992, but from 2009 Karissa ranked higher, and Carissa left the list a year earlier, after 2012.

Related reading

• Is Carissa in the Bible? No, It Is a Form of Charissa, from the Greek for Grace
• Bible verses about God’s grace
• Is Your Name in the Bible? A Directory of 231 Names