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Corlis

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Corlis

Pronounced KOR-liss /ˈkɔːr.lɪs/Medium

Meaning: Corlis is a single-s spelling of Corliss, an English surname derived from an Old English word for 'carefree' or 'cheerful.' Used as a girl's given name in mid-century America, it carries the surname's bright meaning rather than a coined one.Low

In 30 seconds: Corlis is a spelling of the surname Corliss, from an Old English word for 'carefree.' Boosted by a fictional teen of the 1940s, it crested in the late 1950s.

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Origin LowEnglish

MeaningCorlis is a single-s spelling of Corliss, an English surname derived from an Old English word for 'carefree' or 'cheerful.' Used as a girl's given name in mid-century America, it carries the surname's bright meaning rather than a coined one.

U.S. rank (1966)#5926 ↘ Falling

1966 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1957

Total births (all-time)≈ 483

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

Corlis is a variant of Corliss, an English surname that comes from an Old English word meaning 'carefree' or 'cheerful.' It entered use as a girl's first name in mid-century America, helped along by the popular fictional teenager Corliss Archer of 'Kiss and Tell.' The trimmed Corlis spelling crested in the late 1950s.

Corlis was a rare choice, borne by only a few hundred girls before fading by the mid-1960s. A Corlis from her peak is now in her sixties. The name reads as a mid-century surname-name and has not revived, though its cheerful root gives it a pleasant, dated charm.

Did you know? Corliss owes its brief popularity to fiction: the bright, boy-crazy teenager Corliss Archer of 'Kiss and Tell,' a hit on radio, stage and screen in the 1940s, put the surname-name on American birth records.

Overall data confidence 55%

References — Corlis — variant of surname Corliss; Old English 'carefree'; Corliss Archer of 'Kiss and Tell'

Variations

CorlissCorliseKorliss

Nicknames

Cori

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Corlis…

Corliss— the standard spelling of this surname-name

Carla— a same-era Cor-/Car- name of the period

Doris— a like vintage -iss girl's name

Claris— shares the -is ending

Hollis— another English name

Explore names like Corlis

By themevintage surname-name 1950s

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Corlis mean?

Corlis is a form of the surname Corliss, from an Old English word meaning 'carefree' or 'cheerful.'

How do you pronounce Corlis?

It's said KOR-liss /ˈkɔːr.lɪs/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Corlis a boy or girl name?

Corlis was used mainly as a girl's name.

How popular is Corlis?

Corlis was rare, cresting in the late nineteen-fifties around a popular fictional teenager, and then it faded.