| Ophelia | Calliope | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Help, benefit | Beautiful voice |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | oh-FEEL-yuh | kuh-LY-uh-pee |
| Syllables | 3 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2024 (1,223) | 2025 (682) |
| In 2025 | 1,183 | 682 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ophelia | Calliope |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 6,560 | 3,336 |
| 2010s | 3,981 | 2,339 |
| 2000s | 474 | 287 |
| 1990s | 252 | 55 |
| 1980s | 295 | 11 |
| 1970s | 397 | 5 |
| 1960s | 720 | 0 |
| 1950s | 1,388 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1,392 | 0 |
| 1930s | 1,948 | 5 |
| 1920s | 3,276 | 43 |
| 1910s | 2,372 | 7 |
| 1900s | 1,236 | 0 |
| 1890s | 899 | 0 |
| 1880s | 580 | 0 |
From the Greek ophelos, “help” or “benefit.” Ophelia appears in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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.
Ophelia is more popular than Calliope today: about 1,183 US babies were given the name Ophelia in 2025, compared with 682 named Calliope.
Ophelia means Help, benefit (Greek origin), while Calliope means Beautiful voice (greek origin).
In US records, Ophelia first appears in 1880 and Calliope in 1917, so Ophelia has the longer recorded history.