Calla — Meaning, Origin & Everything to Know

With Greek roots and the meaning 'beautiful; the calla lily', Calla rewards a closer look. Because it rests on Greek rather than passing fashion, Calla carries a sense of history that many parents look for. Part of the draw of Calla is that it feels current without being invented, and meaningful without being heavy. For a daughter, Calla carries a sense of beauty, delicacy and natural grace while staying simple to say and spell.

What Does the Name Calla Mean?

At its core, Calla carries the meaning 'beautiful; the calla lily', rooted in Greek.

The early history of Calla belongs to the Greek world, where 'beautiful; the calla lily' was a quality worth naming a child for. As it travelled, Calla kept its 'beautiful; the calla lily' sense intact, handed down to honour relatives and express a hope for the child.

In current use, Calla sits easily in any classroom or workplace while still carrying its original idea of 'beautiful; the calla lily'. It is exactly this balance that lifted Calla into wider use in the 2020s.

The imagery around Calla is one of beauty, delicacy and natural grace, deepened by the Greek tradition behind it.

Origin & Etymology of Calla

Greek · Greek

The roots of Calla lie in Greek, carrying the sense 'beautiful; the calla lily'. When families carried the Greek tradition abroad, Calla went too, picking up minor spelling shifts without losing 'beautiful; the calla lily'.

Calla holds a meaningful place in the Greek tradition, its sense of beauty, delicacy and natural grace tied to long-standing cultural values.

How Greek names are chosen

Greek naming is close to an algorithm, which is why the same names recur down a family for centuries: the eldest son takes his paternal grandfather's name and the eldest daughter her paternal grandmother's, with later children drawing on the mother's side. The name is usually settled within the first week or ten days, the christening following at around forty days, and by custom the godfather has the final word. Because so many names are saints' names, most Greeks keep a name day — the saint's feast — as well as a birthday, and it is often the more sociable of the two. Regional patron saints show up plainly in the distribution: Spyridon clusters on Corfu, Gerasimos on Kefalonia, Dionysios on Zakynthos.

How to Pronounce Calla

CAL-la — Calla is usually said in 2 parts — CAL · la. From Greek roots: vowels are open and clearly sounded.