| Calliope | Selene | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful voice | Moon |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | kuh-LY-uh-pee | seh-LEE-nee |
| Syllables | 4 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1917 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (682) | 2025 (469) |
| In 2025 | 682 | 0 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Calliope | Selene |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,336 | 2,455 |
| 2010s | 2,339 | 2,348 |
| 2000s | 287 | 1,709 |
| 1990s | 55 | 1,608 |
| 1980s | 11 | 481 |
| 1970s | 5 | 473 |
| 1960s | 0 | 359 |
| 1950s | 10 | 161 |
| 1940s | 0 | 79 |
| 1930s | 5 | 12 |
| 1920s | 43 | 23 |
| 1910s | 7 | 5 |
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.
Selene (Greek Selene) is the ancient Greek goddess who personified the moon; the word is related to 'selas' meaning light or brightness. A direct, literal moon name.
Calliope is more popular than Selene today: about 682 US babies were given the name Calliope in 2025, compared with 0 named Selene.
Calliope means Beautiful voice (greek origin), while Selene means Moon (greek origin).
In US records, Calliope first appears in 1917 and Selene in 0, so Selene has the longer recorded history.