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Carliss
Pronounced KAR-liss /ˈkɑːr.lɪs/Medium
Meaning: Carliss reads as an American elaboration of the Carl and Carla family, built on the Germanic karl meaning 'free man' with an added -iss ending in the style of Carliss and Carlisle. There is no separate ancient root; the meaning is inherited from the Carl name it grows out of.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Carliss appears in United States birth records from the 1940s and belongs to the mid-century taste for spinning fresh girls' names out of familiar boys' roots. Built on the Carl and Carla family from Germanic karl, 'free man,' it stayed a long-tail choice, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its high around 1952 and gone from the record by the early 1980s.
A girl named Carliss then would be a grandmother today, and the name reads as a solidly mid-twentieth-century one. It has not revived and is not part of the current vintage comeback, though it still gives a clear-sounding alternative to the more familiar Carla or Carlisle.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Carliss mean?
It is an elaboration of the Carl and Carla family, from the Germanic word for 'free man.'
How do you pronounce Carliss?
It's said KAR-liss /ˈkɑːr.lɪs/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Carliss a boy or girl name?
Carliss is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Carliss?
It has always been rare, a mid-century coinage given to only a couple dozen girls a year even at its peak.