Calypso
Feminine name from Greek mythology meaning "she who conceals".
Name Census estimates that about 434 living Americans carry the first name Calypso. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Calypso today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calypso births was 2020 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calypso. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Calypso with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
434
~ 1 in 789,757 Americans
Peak year
2020
40 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,966
Tracked since 1991
Census
Calypso in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Calypso, which placed it at #29,088 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calypso
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calypso is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Two or More Races (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Calypso described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Calypso at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 67
- Two or more races12.1% · 37
- Black or African American3.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Calypso: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calypso from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 194 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calypso 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 Calypso during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calypsos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Calypso, while Missouri, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Calypso
The name Calypso originates from Greek mythology, deriving from the ancient Greek word "kalyptō" meaning "to cover" or "to conceal." It was the name of the nymph who detained Odysseus on her island of Ogygia for seven years in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, written in the 8th century BC.
According to Greek lore, Calypso was a beautiful immortal goddess who fell in love with the heroic Odysseus after he was shipwrecked on her island. She promised him eternal life and youth if he remained with her, but he ultimately chose to return to his wife Penelope in Ithaca.
The name Calypso gained wider recognition and popularity during the Renaissance period, particularly in literature and art inspired by classical Greek and Roman mythology. One of the earliest known recorded uses of the name was in the 16th century play "The Faithful Shepherdess" by John Fletcher, where a character was named Calypso.
In the 17th century, the French playwright Molière featured a character named Calypso in his comedic play "Les Fourberies de Scapin" (The Tricks of Scapin). This further contributed to the name's familiarity and literary associations.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Calypso. One example is Calypso Sicilia (1818-1880), an Italian-born British writer and feminist known for her advocacy of women's rights and education. Another is Calypso Louvers (1840-1920), a French painter and sculptor who specialized in portraiture and genre scenes.
In the realm of music, the name Calypso is closely linked to the vibrant Caribbean musical genre of the same name. While the origins of the genre's name are not entirely clear, it is believed to be derived from the Greek mythological figure Calypso, possibly due to associations with the island setting and rhythmic, enchanting melodies.
One of the most famous musicians associated with the calypso genre was Trinidadian singer and songwriter Calypso Rose (born 1940), considered the leading female calypso performer of her time. Her real name is McCartha Lewis, but she took on the stage name Calypso Rose, further cementing the name's connection to the musical style.
People
Calypso + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calypso 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
Calypso: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calypso?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 434 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calypso 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 789,757 US residents.
Is Calypso a common name?
We classify Calypso as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 438 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calypso most popular?
The single biggest year for Calypso was 2020, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calypso is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Calypso in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Calypso, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Calypso in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Calypso?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Calypso leans strongly female. 298 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 8 male bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Calypso?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calypso is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Two or More Races (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Calypso most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Calypso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (181 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Calypso in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calypso a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calypso 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.
Is Calypso still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calypso in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Calypso can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Calypso?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Calypso on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.