Name of the Day: Clio

She’s a muse, she’s a queen and while she’s short and simple, there’s nothing flimsy about today’s choice.

Today’s Name of the Day goes out to my daughter-to-be: Clio.

In Greek, kleos means glory. The original bearer of the name wasn’t earning renown as much as she was telling of others’ feats, as the muse of history and historic poetry. Legend has it that she also introduced the alphabet to Greece. (Fraternities everywhere can thank her.)

There were nine muses in all, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. While Thalia and even Calliope could make a comeback, we suspect that Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore and Urania are best left to obscurity. Should you find a depiction of the nine, Clio is the one holding a parchment or scrolls.

The original Greek spelling would’ve been Kleio, so both Cleo and Clio are derived from the same source, and are equally valid spellings. Cleo brings to mind Cleopatra, the powerful and alluring, but ill-fated Egyptian queen. She was actually the seventh ruler to bear the name; the patra transforms the meaning to something closer to father’s glory. Others argue that Cleopatra is a distinct choice related to khleis, or key, and meaning “key to the fatherland.”

Cleo picks up Hollywood gloss from Elizabeth Taylor’s famous 1963 depiction, and of course, literary cred thanks to Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. But today, she’s tarnished by mega-millionaire TV psychic Miss Cleo and 1998 pop single “Cleopatra’s Theme” that lodged the refrain Cleopatra comin’ atcha into our heads for months before the British girl group faded into obscurity.

Clio manages to feel like a separate name, complete without the additional syllables.

She has a big screen connection of her own. Back in 1947, Rita Hayworth played the muse Terpsichore, who adopted the name Kitty Pendleton and attempted to help a Broadway producer in the movie Down to Earth. That title was taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan. And so in 1980, the modern adaptation of that old movie became – wait for it – Xanadu. That’s right. Olivia Newton John roller skated and sang her heart out as the muse Clio – known on Earth as Kira – in the 1980 cult classic.

Kira exploded, and today remains quite popular in several spelling variations. Clio, however, has remained obscure – she’s never charted in the US Top 1000. (Cleo peaked at #171 in 1907 but left the rankings after 1956; Cleopatra has never appeared.)

You’ll also find Clio in the ocean – she’s a type of lentil-sized sea butterfly, part of the family Clioidae. We’re guessing someone scanned a list of ocean nymphs – in Greek mythology, spirits attached to a natural place – to arrive at the name. At least one such nymph was called Clio.

Jane Roper, one of the Babble bloggers, writes about her twins, Elsa and Clio, over at Baby Squared. As the girls enter toddlerhood, both names appear to be wearing well.

If there’s any downside to Clio, it’s her almost inevitable confusion with Top 20 choice Chloe. Still, we think it is a minor concern for a name that we find bright and strong, and that has connections to both the natural and literary worlds.

28 thoughts on “Name of the Day: Clio”

You could not have chose a more beautiful name for your daughter! I absolutely adore Clio! Congratulations on finding the perfect one.

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Indeed, Clio is just perfect! I have a soft spot for Cleo and Cleopatra) since I was 2. I decided then that I’d make an awesome Cleo and still think so. (Brash, loud, attention grabber I can be). I don’t fear confusion with Chloe, rather, I’d be worried she’d have to spell it for all & sundry “no, C-L-I-O, not ‘e’ ” I considered it as a possible middle for Josephine but in the end went with a family surname, again.

Light, airy, Historical and pretty, I can’t find a single fault with Clio and think you chose beautifully, Verity. I’m sure she’ll thank you in years to come! (I wanna see pictures if you can when she finally does get here!) Clio’s awesome!

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I agree with Jess and Lola: what a great choice! Your daughter is going to have the name that all her friends are jealous of! It has history, it is beautiful, and it stands out from the crowd.

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Thank you, thank you and thank you!

There’s a sentimental twist to Clio – my dear dad, who died when I was 14, used to call me Cleopatra. When I was younger, I always thought it *might* make my baby name list, but it seemed too out there. Somehow, ends-in-o names sound so much more mainstream than they did in the 80s.

Of course, she’ll probably hate it. Doesn’t every girl go through a phase where she wants to be Emily or Evalina or something completely different than what she was named?

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Yes, they do. At least, in my experience. But rest assured, by the time she’s an adult, she’ll not only like her name but enjoy it. (I know, I had the worst case of name hate and I’m fine with Laura now) Rest easy, Verity. Clio’s awesome!

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I love it, Verity! And I love the sentimentality, too. I think it’s a great name for your new baby – by the way, when is she “arriving”?

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Ah, the question for the ages! As it happens, I’m due pretty much right now. We’re hoping she doesn’t arrive until later this week, when my mother will be in town. (As soon I hit post, this means I’ll probably go into labor.)

But I’ll have Arthur post a post as soon as she’s here. And I guess I’ll need to update my icon eventually, too.

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I love Clio too – she’s short and simple but has a whole lot of substance – a winning combination! Good luck with everything Verity…

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I love Clio, and I think it’s a fabulous choice. It made my long list a few years ago when I was looking for interesting Greek mythological names that would wear well today. I occasionally suggest Clio and Thalia to people on Yahoo Answers looking for coordinating twin names, though I think Clio’s definitely the more substantial sounding of the two.

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Yay for another Clio! I obviously love the name, though I hope it doesn’t become the next “Emma” or “Madison”

Thanks for all the wonderful background. I’m going to hang onto this post for my Clio to read when she’s older.

And yes, a fair number of people do get mixed up and call her Chloe by accident, but it’s not a big deal.

Congrats on the (impending) new member of the family.

Great site!

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Add to my Bookmarks )

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BEST. NAME. EVER.

Apart from the Chloe attatchment, I have never ever wished to be called anything else. Your daughter will be tres cool. Lets just hope it doesn’t get too popular!

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I LOVE Clio! (It’s my daughter’s name as well, so I’m ever so slightly bias). However, I must say, I was a bit dissapointed to discover the “Clio” Renault Car, which is incredibly popular in just about all of the Western World other than America! We just moved to Italy, and these Clio cars are EVERYWHERE here. Cest la vie, maybe I’ll name my second child Mercedes