| Ariadne | Calliope | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Most holy | Beautiful voice |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ar-ee-AD-nee | kuh-LY-uh-pee |
| Syllables | 4 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1960 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2016 (389) | 2025 (682) |
| In 2025 | 115 | 682 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ariadne | Calliope |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,126 | 3,336 |
| 2010s | 2,589 | 2,339 |
| 2000s | 621 | 287 |
| 1990s | 255 | 55 |
| 1980s | 100 | 11 |
| 1970s | 63 | 5 |
| 1960s | 70 | 0 |
| 1950s | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 5 |
| 1920s | 0 | 43 |
| 1910s | 0 | 7 |
Ariadne means “most holy” in Greek; she guides Theseus from the labyrinth.
From Greek Kalliopē, from kallos 'beauty' + ops 'voice', literally 'beautiful-voiced'. The name of the Muse of epic poetry; the 'beauty' root (kallos) is explicit.
Calliope is more popular than Ariadne today: about 682 US babies were given the name Calliope in 2025, compared with 115 named Ariadne.
Ariadne means Most holy (Greek origin), while Calliope means Beautiful voice (greek origin).
In US records, Ariadne first appears in 1960 and Calliope in 1917, so Calliope has the longer recorded history.