Calysta
A feminine given name derived from the Greek word kallistos meaning "most beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 490 living Americans carry the first name Calysta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Calysta today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calysta births was 1999 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calysta. 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
490
~ 1 in 699,499 Americans
Peak year
1999
58 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,543
Tracked since 1985
Census
Calysta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 477 people with the first name Calysta, which placed it at #21,336 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
#21,336
National first-name rank
People counted
477
477 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calysta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calysta is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.7%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Calysta 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 Calysta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 313
- Hispanic or Latino18.7% · 89
- Two or more races6.5% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 20
- Black or African American3.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 8
Popularity
Calysta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calysta 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 248 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
Calysta 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 Calysta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calystas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Calysta, while Ohio, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Calysta
The name Calysta is believed to have its origins in the Greek language, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "kallistos," which means "most beautiful" or "fairest." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with beauty, grace, and physical attractiveness.
One of the earliest known references to the name Calysta can be found in Greek mythology. In the tales of the ancient Greeks, Calista was a nymph known for her exceptional beauty and charm. She was said to have been admired by both mortals and gods alike, captivating all who laid eyes upon her.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century, the name Calysta gained popularity among the Greek-speaking population of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was used as a feminine name, often bestowed upon daughters of noble or influential families, as a way to honor their perceived beauty and grace.
In the Renaissance period, which began in the 14th century, the name Calysta made its way into the literary works of several notable writers and poets. One of the most famous examples is Calysta, a character in the pastoral romance "Arcadia" by Sir Philip Sidney, published in 1590. This literary reference helped to further popularize the name and solidify its association with beauty and elegance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Calysta. One of the earliest known was Calysta of Syracuse, a Greek poet from the 3rd century BC, renowned for her lyrical compositions. Another notable figure was Calysta of Cyzicus, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 2nd century BC and made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
In more recent times, Calysta Flournoy (1885-1976) was an American educator and activist who played a pivotal role in the advancement of education for African Americans in the early 20th century. She served as the president of the Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youths (now Savannah State University) from 1927 to 1944.
Calysta Jeffery (1923-2005) was a British novelist and short story writer, known for her works that explored themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships. Her novel "The Passion Flower Massacre" was a critically acclaimed work published in 1965.
Calysta Shubert (born 1992) is a contemporary American artist and sculptor, renowned for her large-scale installations and works that explore the relationship between art, nature, and environmental consciousness. Her pieces have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and internationally.
People
Calysta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calysta 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
Calysta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calysta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 490 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calysta 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 699,499 US residents.
Is Calysta a common name?
We classify Calysta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 499 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calysta most popular?
The single biggest year for Calysta was 1999, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calysta is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Calysta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 477 people with the name Calysta, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,336 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 Calysta 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 Calysta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Calysta appears almost entirely female. Of the 478 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 Calysta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Calysta is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.7%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Calysta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Calysta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (313 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 Calysta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calysta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calysta 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 Calysta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calysta 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 Calysta 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 Calysta?
Find out how many people have the name Calysta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.