Calliope: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Calliope blends ancient and retro appeal with a very current sou

Thanks to Tim for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME CALLIOPE MEAN?

We love musical names, like Melody and Aria. 

The baby name Calliope fits right in. In Greek, kallos means beauty, while ops refers to voice. This name translates to “beautiful voice” – just perfect for a singer.

Like many popular baby girl names of our moment, it owes its roots to Greek mythology.

CALLIOPE THE MUSE

The vast pantheon of Greek gods includes deities charged with managing nearly every sphere of human experience.

Some are household names. Zeus, for example. Aphrodite. Maybe Apollo.

Others are familiar, if not exactly top of mind. Count the nine Muses in this group. The goddesses inspired creators in the arts and sciences, and literature, too.

Calliope served as Muse of epic poetry, said to have inspired many poets, like Homer, author of epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. 

Ancient Greek author Hesiod called her “chief of all the muses.” So did the Roman poet Ovid.

Along with her eight sisters, they were the daughters of Zeus. Besides Calliope, they included Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, and Urania.

Now, of course, the term “muse” is almost a synonym for inspiration. Fashion designers and musicians talk about their muses, except they’re mere mortals. Beautiful women, sometimes. At other times, an abstract idea.

But many of us still think of antiquity. Calliope has several children. She’s mother of Orpheus, musician, hero, and master of the lyre.

SAINT CALLIOPE

Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches acknowledge a Saint Calliope – also known as Kalliope or Kalliopi.

We know little about her life, but the story goes something like this: she rejected a pagan suitor or three. The authorities stepped in after one jealous man reported her. Calliope faced torture, and eventual death, at their hands.

The saint may explain the name’s ongoing use, even as many of the other Muses’ names have faded into obscurity.

19TH CENTURY INNOVATION

Back in the 1850s, inventor Joshua C. Stoddard dreamed up a new-fangled contraption meant to replace church bells. 

He called it the Calliope. 

The steam-powered music maker became a staple on river boats, carousels, carnivals, and at circuses. Of course, those old-school calliopes could be loud, even shrill, which redefines the name every so slightly. And they were dangerous, too. A pianist didn’t have to think about scalding hot steam or excessive pressure that could explode.

But it also adds a vintage Americana appeal to the name.

And all these years later, we do recognize the sound and the instrument.

The Beatles used a calliope for the music in “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” Bruce Springsteen sang “the calliope crashed to the ground” in “Blinded by the Light.”

PRONUNCIATION

In modern Greece, this name is spelled Kalliopi, and the pronunciation is slightly different: cal lee OH pee, emphasis on the third syllable, instead of CAH lye oh pee, with emphasis on the first.

Fun fact: at least a few of those Kalliopis prefer the nickname Poppy.

While Calliope is, overwhelmingly, a female given name, other uses include: 

• the name of the smallest bird found in the US, cousin to the hummingbird
• several ships of the British Royal Navy
• a children’s television series, running from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, composed mostly of animated shorts

CALLIOPE ON THE SMALL SCREEN

But it wasn’t just a children’s television series that put Calliope on the small screen – or parents’ radar.

Back in 1994, soap opera Days of Our Lives introduced the world to Calliope Jones. 

There’s a tiny uptick in the name’s use in the US around that time. 

Then Grey’s Anatomy introduced Dr. Calliope Iphigenia Torres during season two. Played by Sara Ramirez, the character appeared on the long-running series from 2006 through 2016.

While Ramirez’ character mostly answered to Callie, Dr. Torres debuted at a pivotal moment for Greek girls’ names ending with E. Penelope returned to the US Top 1000 in 2001, and had powered its way to the Top 500 as of 2006. Zoe and Chloe were Top 100 favorites.

We were ready for the Greek baby names, especially those from the ancient world.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME CALLIOPE?

The baby name Calliope might’ve taken a little longer to catch on because American parents had never really considered it. 

The mythological muse isn’t a household name. So it took a little longer to warm up to Calliope. 

In 2006, just 35 girls answered to the name.

Variants, like Kaliope, had some history of use, as Greek-American families imported the name. 

But it was Calliope that caught on. A decade after the Grey’s Anatomy character was introduced, Calliope was given to 289 girls – enough to crack the US Top 1000.

As of 2024, the chief of all muses shared her name with more than 600 girls and ranked #499 in the US.

FITS-IN/STANDS-OUT CHOICE

The baby name Calliope is a perfect fits-in/stands-out choice.

It fits right in with Top 100 Chloe and Penelope. Nickname Callie is an opportunity to blend in a bit, too. 

But Calliope in full is delightfully vintage, sweetly musical, steeped in ancient story.

It’s a name with a lot to offer, and might be the perfect choice for a daughter born now.

What do you think of the baby name Calliope?

Originally published on April 8, 2009, this post was revised, updated, and re-posted on June 28, 2017 and again on June 25, 2025.