| Calliope | Dorothea | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful voice | gift of God |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | kuh-LY-uh-pee | dor-ə-THEE-ə |
| Syllables | 4 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1917 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (682) | 1920 (1,110) |
| In 2025 | 682 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Calliope | Dorothea |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,336 | 464 |
| 2010s | 2,339 | 345 |
| 2000s | 287 | 210 |
| 1990s | 55 | 299 |
| 1980s | 11 | 478 |
| 1970s | 5 | 768 |
| 1960s | 0 | 2,326 |
| 1950s | 10 | 3,008 |
| 1940s | 0 | 3,111 |
| 1930s | 5 | 4,180 |
| 1920s | 43 | 8,518 |
| 1910s | 7 | 7,750 |
| 1900s | 0 | 1,810 |
| 1890s | 0 | 807 |
| 1880s | 0 | 347 |
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.
From Greek Dorothea, combining doron 'gift' + theos 'God' — 'gift of God'. It is the exact reversal of the elements in Theodora/Theodore.
Calliope is more popular than Dorothea today: about 682 US babies were given the name Calliope in 2025, compared with 0 named Dorothea.
Calliope means Beautiful voice (greek origin), while Dorothea means gift of God (greek origin).
In US records, Calliope first appears in 1917 and Dorothea in 0, so Dorothea has the longer recorded history.