View Message

[Opinions] Charis
What do you think of Charis (pr. KAH-riss) for a girl? I read that the Greek pronunciation is very different but KAH-riss seems to be the one used in English speaking countries (I know a girl named this from the UK). Do you like it? Do you use a different pronunciation?
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I love Charis (KAR-is) - It's Greek and means grace & kindness. Carys (KAH-ris), and its variant Cerys (KEH-ris), are Welsh and mean love. All are beautiful with lovely meanings, so I'd choose your favorite pronunciation and go from there! Best of luck to you.
vote up1
It's pretty. I used to work with a girl called Charis
vote up1
I knew a girl named Charis in high school (pronounced with a K sound). I didn't really love it then. At the time, the name was really unfamiliar to me since I'd never heard it before although I do have more of an appreciation of the name now. I like how it looks and sounds (more so how it looks). The meaning is nice as well.
vote up1
i never heard it before, and for a second it sounded really sweet to me. but then i realized how similar both pronunciations sound to Chris (especially KAH-riss), so much that it'd sound just like Chris when saying it fast. there's nothing objectively bad about that, i just hate the name Chris. otherwise, i feel like it would be annoying to have, since there's like three different pronunciations that seem all equally likely for someone to use. Carys would be much simpler.
vote up1
Charis is a very lovely name, but I prefer the spelling Karis as it's easier for folks to understand the pronunciation and the Greek letter looks more like a K than a Ch. I love the meaning and the sound.
I also like the Welsh name Carys which is pronounced the same but with a different meaning.
vote up1
I've only seen it used in fiction by British authors, so it looks British to me. I've been liking a few Car* (Carina, Caridad, Carmela) and *is (Amaryllis, Doris, Mavis) names recently, but I don't like the sounds combined all that much.And I'm pretty sure most people I know would pronounce it CHAR-iss or CHAIR-iss, which would annoy me if it were my name.

This message was edited 3/28/2018, 6:00 PM

vote up1
I think it's lovely!
Good meaning, good sound. It's simple but elegant, and interesting without being too odd. I feel as though it would age well with someone.
vote up1
Felie asked about this a month ago, for some extra opinions for you https://www.behindthename.com/bb/baby/4902569I'm just going to copy my response, since it hasn't changed.
QuoteI used to like it, thinking it was pronounced KARE-is. Then I helped distribute yearbooks and found a book with Charis on it. Said "Kare-is" to the woman picking it up (we were distributing in the summer so a lot of people had parents pick up) and she said "No, CHAIR-is." I was immediately over it. Prefer the Welsh Cerys.
vote up1
I say it as Care-iss. I love it from a religious perspective, but like that it's not super in your face about it. I go back and forth on liking it enough to use, but it was my #1 for a few months.
vote up1
I love Carys, pronounced CARE-iss, and assumed that Charis was pronounced the same, and was going to say that I love the sound of it, but prefer Carys (which I know is a different name with an entirely different etymology). But KAH-riss? I still like it, but Carys CARE-iss is better. This site doesn't give a pronunciation for Charis, so I don't know if KAH-riss is right or CARE-iss is right for Charis, or both are. My instinct would be to pronounce Charis CARE-iss.
vote up1
My understanding is that it comes from Chares which means Grace or kindness and so to me it's connected to charisms or charismatic and th at informs my pronunciation which is the same as yours.
vote up1
But you see, some of us pronounce charisms and charismatic with a KHA- sound at the beginning and not the CARE- sound. ;)
vote up1
Hi Perrine !!!I should make a 'Chatacters list'..Infact Charis has a beautiful meaning but it is in my heart thanks to a fictional princess.The book is 'Taliesin' by Stephen Lawhead. Here Charis is a beautiful, stubborn, intelligent and fascinating princess of Atlantis (an island/Empire of Greek culture).I already known this name because of its meaning but this book makes it lovely!
vote up1
I love this name. I prefer it spelled without the H though. Caris or Karis. It is a main character in my favorite book of all time: The Pillars of the Earth. Had I read this book prior to my last child, this would have been her name.
vote up1