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Clarissa
Prounouced: cla RISS a, English: Bright: shining and gentle: famous. Spanish : clear. Latin: clarus -clear, bright, famous.
Origin and history: The name appears both in England and in Spain, in England it's a variant of Claire or Clarice. In Artharian Legend the name Clarissant is used, by the sister of Gawain. Its known much earlier from latin times as Claritia.

The name has had highs and lows, riding high when it was celebrated by Samuel Richardson in his novel, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady , published in 1748, which tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family. It is commonly cited as the longest novel in the English language. More recently the name become well known again due to a US sitcom, 'Clarissa explains it all' where the heroine attempts to make sense of her passage thro the rites of teenagerism, and coping with her family. There have been films named Clarissa, a comet and a city and even a song, celebrating the name.

Famous people include Agatha Christie (real name Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller)who was born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay. Her books are still well read, and are now adapted for television.

Learn more about this author, Rosalind Lee.
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