Callista
Feminine · “most beautiful”
Callista is Greek for the most beautiful — a superlative, not an adjective — and it belongs to a nymph of Greek myth whom Zeus turned into a bear and then into a constellation.
How old is the name Callista?
Callista first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Callista alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 2,400 people named Callista are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Callista most popular?
Callista peaked in 1999, reaching #1315 nationally. Today it ranks #3577, 2,262 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Where it comes from
From kallistos to Callista
The story of Callista
Callisto was a companion of Artemis in the myth, transformed into a bear and then set in the sky as the Great Bear. Her name is the superlative of the ordinary Greek word for beautiful. The name entered Christian use through early saints and has been used in Greek, Italian and Spanish since. It appears in English-language records from the twentieth century and rose modestly in the 1990s.
Meaning
most beautiful
From Greek kallistos, the superlative of kalos, beautiful; the feminine Kalliste gives the name. The same root opens Calliope, beautiful-voiced, and Callisto, the nymph and the Jovian moon named for her.
How the name formed
- kallistos
- Kalliste
- Callista
Related forms: Kallista · Callista · Calista
Pronouncing Callista
kuh-LIS-tah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Greek gives ka-LEE-stee.
Nicknames for Callista
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 1999137 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1315reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- +10.5%42 in 2025, from 38
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Callista in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kallista in Greek — same name
- Callista in Italian — same name
- Calista in Spanish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Callistas among us
people named Callista are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 38,268 born in 2025 was named Callista
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Callista
- #3577
- Callista on the 2025 chart
- #733
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Callista went to 42 girls in 2025, but Calista, Kalista and Kallista are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 229, which makes it the 733rd most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,844 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 7,019 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 38,268 for Callista itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sherrell test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Callista's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherrell climbed just as high around 1944, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherrell's path sketches the road Callista is walking now.
Callista sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Callista is headed
Callista should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Callista beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Callista in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning that is a superlative rather than a plain adjective.
- Callie is a warm short form that works from childhood on.
- The moon of Jupiter carries the related name, which is a good connection.
- A name meaning most beautiful is a large claim to hand a child.
- Calista with one l is the more common American spelling.
- The nymph in the myth is transformed against her will, which is worth knowing.
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What they receive
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Callista
Feminine · #3577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Callistas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Callista are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Callista?
- Callista is one of 4 recorded spellings. Calista is the more common one — 131 births in 2025 against 42 for Callista.
- How popular is the name Callista in 2025?
- Callista ranks #3577 among US girl names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Callista?
- About 1 in every 38,268 US girls born in 2025 was named Callista — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Callista with classmates?
- Callista will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Callista
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Delphine#3577 · Evelyne#3577 · Ellanor#3577 · Gwenevere#3577 · Lian#3577 · Katya#3577 · Kolby#3577 · Cherry#3577
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Callista? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Callista and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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