Karessa is of Greek origin, meaning "graceful". It was popularized by American author Stephen King, who used it as the name of a character in his 1987 novel, "The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands". The name has since gained some recognition and usage, particularly in English-speaking countries. Spelling variants include Caressa and Karissa.
The name Karessa experienced significant popularity from the late 70s to the mid-90s, with a peak of 31 births in 1988. However, it has seen a steady decline since then, with fewer than 10 births per year from the late 90s onwards, and some years seeing only 5 or 6 births. Overall, there have been 452 babies named Karessa over the period covered by these statistics.