Calliope

What Calliope means

Means “beautiful + voice”

From Latin Calliope, from Ancient Greek Καλλιόπη (Kalliópē), from κᾰλλῐ- (kăllĭ-, “beautiful”) + ὄψ (óps, “voice”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Calliope” (revision 93487014), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Calliope?

US: Rising: up from #1146 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #3615 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 682 girls got the name (#451 that year). First in the US records in 1917.

How common

• About 1 in 2,357 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,444 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NM (2.14 per 1,000 girls), NH (1.58 per 1,000 girls), ID (1.4 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Calliope is #451 in the US and #661 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Calliope were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kalliope113 US · 3 E&W
• Kaliope17 US
• Caliope14 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Calliope

Girls

• Dahlia#215Editor’s note Up from #412 in 2015 to #215 in 2025 in the US
• Eliza#115Editor’s note Up from #175 in 2015 to #115 in 2025 in the US
• River#219From the word “river”^*
• Zara#212“flower”^*
• Luna#27“the moon”^*
• Juliette#110Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #227 in 2015, #110 in 2025

For a brother

• Shepherd#246From the word “shepherd”^*
• Liam#1Form of William, meaning “will + helmet”^*
• Amir#105“commander, prince”^*
• Mateo#8Same root as Matthew, meaning “gift of the Lord”^*
• Atticus#281“the Attic, the Athenian, a cognomen”^*
• Kayson#264Variant of Cason, meaning “house”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Calliope’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.