| Pandora | Callista | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | all-gifted | Most beautiful |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | pan-DOR-ə | kuh-LIS-tuh |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1914 |
| Peak year | 1952 (132) | 1999 (137) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 42 |
| Trend | Vintage | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Pandora | Callista |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 225 | 250 |
| 2010s | 498 | 567 |
| 2000s | 315 | 901 |
| 1990s | 173 | 424 |
| 1980s | 87 | 197 |
| 1970s | 285 | 44 |
| 1960s | 660 | 5 |
| 1950s | 659 | 28 |
| 1940s | 83 | 0 |
| 1930s | 58 | 6 |
| 1920s | 72 | 23 |
| 1910s | 11 | 40 |
From Greek Pandora, combining pan 'all' + doron 'gift', meaning 'all-gifted' or, by an older reading, 'all-giving' (giver of all gifts). The scholarly sense is disputed between 'gifted with everything' and 'giver of all'.
From Greek kallistos/kallistē 'most beautiful', the superlative of kalos, from kallos 'beauty'. Kalliste was a title of the goddess Artemis; the mythological nymph Kallisto bears the same root.
Callista is more popular than Pandora today: about 42 US babies were given the name Callista in 2025, compared with 0 named Pandora.
Pandora means all-gifted (greek origin), while Callista means Most beautiful (greek origin).
In US records, Pandora first appears in 0 and Callista in 1914, so Pandora has the longer recorded history.