Kallista
The most beautiful, from the Greek word "kallistos" meaning beautiful.
Name Census estimates that about 861 living Americans carry the first name Kallista. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kallista today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kallista births was 2001 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kallista. 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 Kallista with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
861
~ 1 in 398,089 Americans
Peak year
2001
59 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,197
Tracked since 1985
Census
Kallista in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 770 people with the first name Kallista, which placed it at #15,057 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
#15,057
National first-name rank
People counted
770
770 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kallista
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kallista is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Kallista 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 Kallista at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.8% · 553
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 84
- Two or more races8.1% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 41
- Black or African American3.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Popularity
Kallista: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kallista from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 413 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
Kallista 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 Kallista during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kallistas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kallista, while Pennsylvania, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kallista
The name Kallista has its origins in Ancient Greek, emerging during the classical period of ancient Greek civilization. It is derived from the Greek word "kallos," which means beauty or beautiful. In Greek mythology, Kallista was an epithet used to describe the goddess Aphrodite, the embodiment of beauty, love, and desire.
Kallista was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it did appear in various classical texts and inscriptions. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos in the 6th century BCE. Sappho's poetry often celebrated female beauty and desire, making the name Kallista a fitting choice for one of her subjects or characters.
In the 4th century BCE, the name Kallista appears in the works of the Greek philosopher Plato. In his dialogue "Phaedrus," Plato mentions a woman named Kallista who was renowned for her beauty and virtue. This reference suggests that the name was associated with physical beauty as well as inner qualities such as grace and nobility.
During the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE to the emergence of the Roman Empire, the name Kallista continued to be used, although it remained relatively rare. One notable figure from this era was Kallista of Lesbos, a Greek poet and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She was known for her works on ethics and was praised for her intellect and wisdom.
In the 1st century CE, the name Kallista appears in the writings of the Roman philosopher Seneca. He mentions a woman named Kallista who was a slave but was respected for her virtue and wisdom. This reference suggests that the name had transcended its original association with physical beauty and had taken on a broader meaning of inner beauty and strength of character.
Throughout the Byzantine period, which spanned from the 4th century to the 15th century CE, the name Kallista remained in use, although it was not as common as other Greek names. One notable figure from this era was Kallista of Constantinople, a Byzantine noblewoman and scholar who lived in the 11th century CE. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of educational institutions.
Other notable historical figures named Kallista include Kallista of Ephesus, a Greek painter from the 2nd century BCE who was renowned for her portraits, and Kallista of Pergamon, a Greek sculptor from the 1st century BCE who created intricate marble statues.
While the name Kallista has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over the centuries, often retaining its association with beauty and grace. However, its historical origins and rich cultural heritage remain closely tied to the classical Greek world and the enduring legacy of its mythology, literature, and art.
People
Kallista + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kallista as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kallista: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kallista?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 861 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kallista 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 398,089 US residents.
Is Kallista a common name?
We classify Kallista as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 875 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kallista most popular?
The single biggest year for Kallista was 2001, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kallista is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kallista in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 770 people with the name Kallista, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,057 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 Kallista 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 Kallista?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kallista appears almost entirely female. Of the 774 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kallista?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kallista is White at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Kallista most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kallista in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (553 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 Kallista in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kallista a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kallista 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 Kallista still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kallista 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 Kallista 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 many people are called Kallista?
See how many people have the name Kallista on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.