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CLARISSA
(kla-RIS-a or klah-REE-sah)

ETYMOLOGY:

The name CLARISSA is a Latinate form of Clarice, from the Latin clarus meaning "clear, bright, famous".

ORIGIN & HISTORY:

From its inclusion in historical documents, the name CLARISSA is known to have been in use in medieval times. It was revived in the eighteenth century by author Samuel Richardson who gave the name to his heroine in "Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady", published in 1748.

POPULARITY:

The name CLARISSA has featured intermittently in the US Social Security Administration top 1000 baby names since it's inception in 1880. However, it has never appeared within the top 100. It achieved its greatest popularity in the early nineties, probably due to the success of Nicolodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All."

FASCINATING FACTS:

Along with Mary, Clarissa was the middle name of crime writer Agatha Christie.

NAMESAKES:

"Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady", is a novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the story of tragic heroine, Clarissa Harlowe, whose pursuit of virtue is undermined by her family's pursuit of wealth.
A television adaptation starring Sean Bean was broadcast by the BBC, and PBS, in 1991.

"Clarissa Explains It All" was a hugely popular teen sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart in the title role. It aired on Nicolodeon between 1991 and 1994.

Clarissa was the first name of Virgina Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway."

Clarissa also lends itself to the name of an asteroid discovered by Auguste Charlois in 1890.

FAMOUS PERSONS:

CLARISSA DICKSON WRIGHT, b. June 28 1947, British celebrity chef. Best known as one half of the "Two Fat Ladies".

NAME VARIANTS:

Chiara (Italian)
(kee-AH-ra)

Chiarina (Italian)
(kee-AH-ree-na)

Clara, Klara (KLAH-rah, KLER-a, KLAR-a)

Clair, Claire, Clare (KLER)

Claretta (Klah-RET-ta)

Clarette (Klah-RET)

Claribel (KLAH-ri-bel)

Clarinda (Klah-REEN-dah)

Clarisa, Klarisa, Klarissa

Clarice, Clarisse (kla-REES or KLER-is)

Klarisza (Hungarian)
(KLAH-ree-zha)

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