I’m in my third trimester now and would love to settle on a name with my husband. There are plenty that we both like (from what I can tell from his minimal input ), but the names I have had the longest crushes on have all been eliminated.
[name]Grace[/name] and [name]Zinnia[/name] I have always loved, but for some reason I’m okay with their removal from our list, but I keep coming back to the name [name]Clarissa[/name]. I don’t have any other -ssa names on my list and this name isn’t my typical style, but I absolutely love it - everything from sound, meaning, looks, and its connection to the moving “Mr. [name]Smith[/name] Goes to [name]Washington[/name]” (I was a middle school Civics teacher for 8 years and fell in love with this movie and name…anyone seen it?)
So…2 questions: 1) What do you think of the name “[name]Clarissa[/name]”? and 2) Should I fight for this name or fight harder to suppress it? Have you ever had any name regrets from not using your favorite name?
I’m not crazy about it to be honest. I knew a [name]Karissa[/name] and unfortunately she wasn’t a pleasant person. It reminds me of a children’s show I used to watch when I was young where the main character was a hippo? (or some large animal) named [name]Clarissa[/name]. I think [name]Clara[/name] is simply darling however. I’ve never seen Mr. [name]Smith[/name] Goes to [name]Washington[/name]. It’s definitely not my style but I personally like [name]Clara[/name] better, it seems more timeless imo.
Though, if you do really love [name]Clarissa[/name], you should fight for it.
I think [name]Clarissa[/name] is pretty but the -issa names are a bit tired, [name]Melissa[/name] [name]Alyssa[/name] etc. [name]Clarissa[/name] is less so though, so I’d encourage it if you really love it and your husband is on board (and the other names you like would go well enough - if [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Zinnia[/name] are examples of your taste, I think they go well enough with [name]Clarissa[/name]). I have seen Mr. [name]Smith[/name] goes to [name]Washington[/name] but didn’t remember the character named that. It makes me think of the show [name]Clarissa[/name] explains it all. I think its etymology is as a nn fo [name]Clara[/name] so [name]Clara[/name] nn [name]Clarissa[/name] would be very fitting. I haven’t known any Clarissas but I knew a [name]Carissa[/name] we nn’d [name]Clarissa[/name] (probably bc of that show lol), unlike pp’s [name]Karissa[/name], that [name]Carissa[/name] was a very nice person. Also, wasn’t like the first novel of letters or something like that, some literary thing, called [name]Clarissa[/name]? Google that and see what you find.
No name regret from not using, as I don’t have kids yet.
i dont like it much though i do like issa names other than melissa (probably due to an annoying girl i grew up with plus the popularity factor.)
i really like marissa and am ok with larissa and charissa (pronounced like karissa) also Arisa (also rhymes with these, popular in japan) is on our list
to me [name]Clarissa[/name] is just ‘too much’ though i normally like frilly and eighties names like tiffany and bianca.
i bet if you named your daughter this though, she would not hate her name, its not the worst thing out there. to me the pros are the femininity and the lack of popularity/common-ness while still being easy to recognize /spell. not sure if your hubby will ever warm up to it if he doesn’t like it though. i would fight for those other 2 before this … zinnia in particular is really pretty if it goes with your surname
i do have a name regret, my daughters middle name, its a simple one, zara, but i wish id fought for arabella or bianca, dh had a random complaint that “arabella sounds like the word ‘irritating’” that he now doesnt even remember. he definitely remembers that he does not like ‘bianca’ though! zara is just something that sounded/looked great with the fn and ln and i liked the meanings, but it wasnt something that i absolutely loved
I’m just over the -issa names- [name]Clarissa[/name], [name]Melissa[/name], [name]Alyssa[/name], [name]Larissa[/name], etc. They’re all pretty, I get why they were popular, but I think they deserve a break from egregious overuse.
BUT you seem to really like the name, and it’s not a bad name, just dated. So if you don’t find something you like more, go ahead and use it.
To me [name]Clarissa[/name] does not seem dated in quite the same way as [name]Alyssa[/name] and [name]Melissa[/name], but that may just be because I’ve never actually met a [name]Clarissa[/name]. It does remind me of the television show “[name]Clarissa[/name] Explains It All,” but that doesn’t seem bad. As a bonus, it has the nn [name]Clair[/name], which, if the name seems too frilly is a nice option since it is currently popular (and also lovely imo).
I think it’s okay. Definitely not my style, but I don’t see anything wrong with the name. I’ve seen the [name]Jimmy[/name] [name]Stewart[/name] movie but it has been awhile and I don’t remember a [name]Clarissa[/name] from it. One thing I will note though, if this is a movie you just [name]LOVE[/name] and are likely to talk about a lot (and it seems like maybe this is the case), you can pretty quickly drive your kid nuts – especially if her name is from it. Personally, I would be a little afraid of giving her “Mr. [name]Smith[/name] Fatigue,” as if every time she turns around there’s ANOTHER reference to that old movie Mom likes so much. If it were me, and in hopes of sharing the movie with her and cultivating a similar love for it, I would consider moving [name]Clarissa[/name] to the middle name spot. That way she doesn’t hear a reference to “that old movie” every. single. time. she. hears. her. name. [name]Hope[/name] this is making sense!
I think [name]Clarissa[/name] has a certain “freshness” to it that the overused [name]Melissa[/name] and [name]Alyssa[/name] sadly lack. Maybe that’s because we don’t hear it very often. The only [name]Clarissa[/name] that I’m aware of is British TV chef [name]Clarissa[/name] [name]Dickson[/name] [name]Wright[/name] who used to ride around [name]Britain[/name] in the sidecar of her fellow chef [name]Jennifer[/name] [name]Paterson[/name]'s motorcylce on the show “Two Fat Ladies”. I’m usually not a fan of names ending in “issa” but there is always an exception to every rule. [name]Clarissa[/name] is pretty, elegant and ladylike. Lately, I’m even liking [name]Marisa[/name] and [name]Vanessa[/name] so rules are only made to be broken. :).
Thanks for your thoughtful feedback, everyone! I really appreciate your honesty with the name [name]Clarissa[/name].
saracita00 - Your comments about movie fatigue made me laugh and definitely think twice about the name. I don’t think I quote that movie, or any movie, but purely because I have a horrible memory for dialogue! However, it is very, very possible that my daughter won’t appreciate the movie as much as I do. Something to consider…
You could consider using [name]Clarissa[/name] as her mn…[name]Grace[/name] [name]Clarissa[/name] sounds very pretty. I love the name [name]Zinnia[/name] as well! [name]Clarissa[/name] is uncommon to hear but quite pretty and feminine.
I tend to agree with other posters about the somewhat tired sound of the -issa ending, but if you love it, go for it.
I would go with a mn that your daughter could use as well if you would have name regret later. I’ve never had name regret with my 4 - [name]James[/name], [name]Gracie[/name], [name]Oliver[/name] & [name]Eli[/name].
I love the name [name]Clarissa[/name]! I think it’s beautiful, elegant, and underused. I wouldn’t worry about the movie connection too much unless you do feel like you would think of it every time you hear or say your daughter’s name. I would fight for [name]Clarissa[/name]! What is it that your husband doesn’t like about it?
It reminds me of “[name]Clarissa[/name] Explains It All”, about a cool, artsy teen, not a bad association at all. It doesn’t really make a difference beyond what you like. There are going to be a million Graces by the time your daughter hits school, so all the Alyssas and Melissas in comparison aren’t major.
I agree with mischa it is elegant, pretty, ladylike and classy.
I think all the ‘issa’ names are fabulous and that people are ‘over’ them because it represents the names they grew up with. I think the names of the 80’s/90’s were far superior to the ones of my era the 1950’s with a few exceptions.
I think it would be lovely to hear of a [name]Clarissa[/name] or a [name]Larissa[/name].
Of all the issa names [name]Clarissa[/name] is probably my favorite. It reminds me of the character [name]Clarissa[/name] Dalloway in [name]Virginia[/name] [name]Woolf[/name]'s novel Mrs. Dalloway.
I also like the root name [name]Clarice[/name]/[name]Clara[/name]. It is not overused like [name]Alyssa[/name]/[name]Melissa[/name] so it does have a certain freshness, and I don’t really find it dated as it never really thought it was in vogue.
Thanks for the [name]Clarissa[/name] love! It makes me really happy to hear it.
baileyanne - Thank you for your encouragement! I first thought my husband didn’t like the name because he thought it was too frilly, but in reality I think it is because he doesn’t like [name]Claire[/name]/[name]Clare[/name]/[name]Clara[/name] and its variations. He has rejected those names too.
I’ve known one [name]Clarissa[/name] – a 12th grade student – who went by [name]Clarissa[/name] and was a pretty nice kid. I think it’s a great name, and definitely not in the same class as either [name]Melissa[/name] or [name]Alyssa[/name] due to its historicity and age. I think of Puritan/Edwardian names, [name]Clarissa[/name] is the best of the bunch and [name]Clare[/name] makes a great nn. I say, go for it. I like [name]Clarissa[/name] much better than either [name]Grace[/name] or [name]Zinnia[/name]. I much prefer [name]Mercy[/name] to [name]Grace[/name] and don’t like [name]Zinnia[/name] at all.
I like the name [name]Clarissa[/name] and I think it’s cute and spunky and you should definitely use it!
[name]Claire[/name]/[name]Clara[/name]/[name]Clarie[/name]/[name]Rissa[/name]/Rissie are cute nicknames as well.
I think it’s pretty. I didn’t think of the other “issa” names when I saw it. I guess I can see the connection, but I think [name]Clarissa[/name] can stand on its own - maybe because it wasn’t quite a common as some others?
In terms of fighting for a favorite name … I worked to convince my husband to use [name]Lucy[/name] for a while. It was my top name for my 2nd daughter and we are finally going to use it for our 4th daughter. Considering that many people don’t end up with 4 girls, I probably should have worked a little harder if it was a name that I really loved. But there were some names that my husband really didn’t like, and there were others that fell into the “it’s just OK” category. [name]Lucy[/name] fell into the 2nd category for him. (There are certain names that I knew didn’t have a chance.) He liked [name]Lucy[/name], but he had a few reservations. I didn’t have any major regrets when I didn’t use this name with my 2nd or 3rd daughters since their own names really do suit them. And if I never got to use [name]Lucy[/name]? I think it would just be one of those names that I would always be very, very fond of. It’s like the name [name]Henry[/name] (my top boy name) that I’ll never get to use. I’m a little wistful about it, but I get very happy when I meet other babies named [name]Henry[/name].
), but the names I have had the longest crushes on have all been eliminated.
Something to consider…