| Calliope | Melina | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful voice | Honey |
| Origin | greek | Greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | kuh-LY-uh-pee | muh-LEE-nah |
| Syllables | 4 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1917 | 1883 |
| Peak year | 2025 (682) | 2009 (681) |
| In 2025 | 682 | 434 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Calliope | Melina |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,336 | 2,724 |
| 2010s | 2,339 | 4,946 |
| 2000s | 287 | 5,413 |
| 1990s | 55 | 3,089 |
| 1980s | 11 | 1,634 |
| 1970s | 5 | 1,104 |
| 1960s | 0 | 616 |
| 1950s | 10 | 118 |
| 1940s | 0 | 34 |
| 1930s | 5 | 16 |
| 1920s | 43 | 57 |
| 1910s | 7 | 82 |
| 1900s | 0 | 40 |
| 1890s | 0 | 36 |
| 1880s | 0 | 17 |
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.
Melina is linked to the Greek for “honey.”
Calliope is more popular than Melina today: about 682 US babies were given the name Calliope in 2025, compared with 434 named Melina.
Calliope means Beautiful voice (greek origin), while Melina means Honey (Greek origin).
In US records, Calliope first appears in 1917 and Melina in 1883, so Melina has the longer recorded history.