Calista Flockhart at the 2009 Deauville American Film Festival-01

Callista is a feminine given name with different origins. It is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

name derived from the word καλλίστη or ''kallístē'', meaning "fairest, most

beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

." In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Callisto CALLISTO (''Cooperative Action Leading to Launcher Innovation in Stage Toss-back Operations'') is a reusable VTVL Prototype, demonstrator propelled by a small 40 kN Japanese LOX-LH2 rocket engine. It is being developed jointly by the CNES, French ...

was a huntress, who was loved by the god

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. Calista is a variant English spelling of the Greek Callista. Calista is also a

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

name that evolved as a Spanish form of Calixta, the feminine version of the name Calixtus. Calixtus was derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'cup', taken from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

() 'cup' meaning "

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

" and used by early Christians in reference to the cup used during the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. Callista is also a spelling variant of the Late Latin name Calista. Other versions of the name are Callistee, Callysta, Calysta, Kalista, Kallista, Kallistee, and Kalysta.

Usage

The name was traditionally used most often in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, but has been in occasional use in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

since the early 19th century. Both Callista and Calista became better known worldwide due to the fame of American actress

Calista Flockhart Calista Kay Flockhart (born November 11, 1964) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying the title character on the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 and w ...

, who portrayed the heroine of the popular American

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'', which aired from 1997 to 2002. Flockhart was given her mother's middle name as a first name. The name Calista first appeared on popularity charts in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but then declined again in use. Calista was among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States between 1998 and 2004, was among the top 500 names for French girls between 2001 and 2005, and was among the top 1,000 names for British girls for one year, in 2001.https://www.behindthename.com/name/calista

Women named Callista

* Callista Balko (born 1986), American former college softball player * Callista Chimombo (born 1959), Malawian politician and widow of President Bingu wa Mutharika * Callista Clark (born 2003), American country music singer *

Callista Gingrich Callista Louise Gingrich (Birth name, née Bisek; born March 4, 1966) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, author, and documentary film producer who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See, United States ambassador t ...

(née Bisek; born 1966), American diplomat, businesswoman, author, and documentary film producer *

Callista Roy Sister Callista Roy, CSJ (born October 14, 1939) is an American nun, nursing theorist, professor and author. She is known for creating the adaptation model of nursing. She was a nursing professor at Boston College before retiring in 2017. Roy was ...

(born 1939), American nun, nursing theorist, professor and author

Women named Calista

(born 1964), American actress * Calista Cooper Hughes (1914–2004), American politician * Calista V. Luther (1841–1924), American missionary and medical doctor, daughter of Calista Vinton * Calista Halsey Patchin (1845–1920), American journalist and artist * Calista Redmond, American business executive *

Calista Vinton Calista H. Vinton (19 April 1807 – 18 December 1864) was an American Baptist missionary who labored for 30 years in Burma (now known as Myanmar) preaching, teaching and caring amongst the Karen people. Both Calista and her husband Justus Vi ...

(1807–1864), American Baptist missionary, mother of Calista V. Luther

As middle name

* Harriet Calista Clark McCabe (1827–1919), American pioneer in women's work for temperance and home missions * Lucy Calista Morgan (1889–1981), American weaver and teacher

Women named Kalista

* Kalista Sy (born c. 1985), Senegalese screenwriter

Women named Kallista

* Kallista Field (born 1978), New Zealand equestrian *

Kallista Kann Hermine Kallista Kann (February 28, 1895 – March 23, 1983) was an Estonian linguist and teacher. Early life and education Kallista Kann was born in Tartu in the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire, the daughter of the schoolteacher Hans K ...

(1895–1983), Estonian linguist and teacher

References

{{reflist Feminine given names