Calista
The most beautiful and loveliest woman.
Name Census estimates that about 6,786 living Americans carry the first name Calista. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Calista today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calista births was 1999 (490 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calista. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
6.8K
~ 1 in 50,509 Americans
Peak year
1999
490 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,457
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Calista: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calista from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,733 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calista by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Calista during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calistas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Calista, while South Dakota, Hawaii, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 125 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Calista
The name Calista has its origins in Ancient Greek, where it was derived from the word "kallistos," meaning "most beautiful." It was a popular name among the Greeks, given to girls as a reflection of their perceived beauty and grace.
In Greek mythology, Calista was the name of one of the Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. This association with the divine realm likely contributed to the name's prestige and appeal in ancient times.
The earliest recorded use of the name Calista can be traced back to the 5th century BC, when it appeared in various Greek literary works and inscriptions. One notable example is the Greek philosopher Callisthenes of Olynthus, who lived from circa 360 to 327 BC and was a student of Aristotle.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Calista. One of the earliest was Calista, a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century AD and was mentioned in the writings of the Roman poet Martial.
In the Middle Ages, Calista was the name of a 9th-century Italian saint and martyr, known as Saint Calista of Spoleto. She was allegedly executed for her Christian faith during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
During the Renaissance, Calista was the name of an Italian noblewoman, Calista Gabriella Guadagni, who lived from 1475 to 1542 and was a patron of the arts and a member of the powerful Guadagni family of Florence.
In more recent times, the name Calista has been borne by several notable individuals, including Calista Flockhart, the American actress born in 1964, best known for her role as Ally McBeal in the television series of the same name.
Another famous Calista is Calista Courtright, an American writer and poet who lived from 1846 to 1917 and was known for her nature-inspired works and advocacy for women's rights.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Calista
People
Calista + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calista as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Calista: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calista?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,786 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calista going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 50,509 US residents.
Is Calista a common name?
We classify Calista as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,372 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calista most popular?
The single biggest year for Calista was 1999, when 490 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calista is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Calista a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calista in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.