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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Calliope?

82 replies

willoughwillow · 08/07/2021 16:46

ka-LYE-oh-pee

is it wearable like Penelope or a bit pretentious without greek context?
Means beautiful voices and was muse of poetry.

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WaltzingBetty · 13/07/2021 06:34

@thisplaceisweird

I think it's beautiful but be prepared for people to call her cally-ope her whole life! Unless you're very posh and she's going to private school darling
Is that because we working class are incapable of pronunciation?Hmm Odd that we all manage with Penelope No one says Penny-lope do they?

OP, Calliope is a gorgeous name and much prefer the Cal eye oh pee pronunciation

Literally no on will nickname her cantaloupe or callipers (bizarre suggestions!) perhaps Callie or popi but I'm sure you can deal with that

hawkehurstgang · 13/07/2021 06:21

I like it said Cal-ee-oh-pee but not the way you plan to pronounce it, which seems a mouthful.

2orangey · 12/07/2021 23:09

The actress Felicia Day has a daughter called Calliope Maeve (pronounced Cal- EYE - oh - pea). She mentions her daughter sometimes on her YouTube channel. I found it strange at first but have grown to quite like it. Beautiful meaning.

rantymcrantface66 · 12/07/2021 03:20

Don't like it at all. Much prefer Callista shortened to Callia than calliope that will naturally shorten to Callie

inmyslippers · 11/07/2021 23:17

Love it

tilder · 11/07/2021 23:05

Having a name where the pronunciation is not always intuitive can be tricky. People will mispronounce it.

They will also abbreviate it. Four syllables is a lot in the playground.

If either of these will annoy you, it's something to bear in mind.

irresistibleoverwhelm · 11/07/2021 22:51

I like Calliope; nn Callie. (Have you read Susan Cooper's Seaward?) I don't think any modern children will know what callipers are, to be honest.

I have never thought of Corisande (as a pp suggested); but it's lovely, in a 17th-century masque kind of way!

Lalliella · 11/07/2021 22:43

Absolutely beautiful name. I had a friend at college with this name. She didn’t like being called Callie though which is a shame because I think that’s pretty too.

schoolsoutforever · 11/07/2021 19:45

My favourite girls name. Muse of poetry, sounds lovely. What’s not to like?

VenusClapTrap · 11/07/2021 16:36

I’m not keen really; I think there are nicer Classical Greek names. I knew a woman called Calliope years ago and she pronounced it with an ee sound in the middle not an eye sound. She was vair vair aristocratic and I was terrified of her (I was young, and she was dazzling).

TheGenealogist · 11/07/2021 16:18

People are going to mispronounce it as Cally-ohp.

It's a great name, but the mispronunciation possibilities put me off.

Chilldonaldchill · 10/07/2021 20:49

I really like it and much prefer it to Penelope. I usually say Call - EYE - o - pee but I have met a few Kaliopis who use the ee sound in the middle.
Callie is a lovely nn.

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel · 10/07/2021 10:55

Calipers. Nope.

toastofthetown · 10/07/2021 10:41

@De88

If you like it go for it, as long as you know and accept whenever you say it aloud in public you will get several snorts of derision and raised eyebrows
Most adults have sufficient self control not to snort with derision at a child’s name.
De88 · 10/07/2021 10:17

If you like it go for it, as long as you know and accept whenever you say it aloud in public you will get several snorts of derision and raised eyebrows

PattyPan · 09/07/2021 11:20

It will definitely be pronounced wrong (I also thought it was call-ee-oh-pee) and almost definitely shortened to Callie. I don’t like the lie sound.

TatianaBis · 09/07/2021 10:54

@Doublestar

Sorry, it reminds me of Callipers (those brace-things for legs). It's not a nice sounding name imo and everyone will pronounce it wrong.
Me too.

I like Callisto though.

Cavalierqueen · 09/07/2021 10:34

To add, rightly so. Blush

Cavalierqueen · 09/07/2021 10:34

Pronunciation incorrect. I think you need to be Greek to be an Aphrodite or a Hermes. Otherwise it's. A bit of a trying to be different name. My name is Aphrodite (bugger will have to name change now) and it's ten a penny in Greece. Outside its inconvenient, pretentious and embarrassing and I tell people I am called Jane if it's a casual encounter to save the hassle of the whole where does your name come from crap. Funny, if I was black, nobody would dare ask me where my name came from in case I was offended but it's. Open season on white people with silly names.

DerisorySnort · 09/07/2021 10:28

Very ugly name.
It seems very horsey as it sounds like clippy-cloppy and gallopy; as well as callipers, callipo and canteloupe. And it's just not a nice word.

Sorry!

NakedAttraction · 09/07/2021 10:01

@MenaiMna

Pretty as it seems it is the 19th century name for a steam organ as found on fairgrounds...if you're willing to risk it.
Not sure I would see that as a big risk Grin
Viviennemary · 09/07/2021 09:56

It's absolutely dire.

CaitlinEJ · 09/07/2021 09:48

We have a Calliope, although she mostly goes by Callie. We do have Greek in our family though but we didn’t choose it because it was Greek, mostly because we love it.

Aspiringmatriarch · 09/07/2021 07:35

Love it.

M0rT · 09/07/2021 07:33

I like it and like a pp would pronounce your way because of Grey's Anatomy.