Cleo
Meaning
glory, pride
The story
Cleo is Greek, from kleos, glory, the root that powers Cleopatra, and for most of its American life it worked as the friendly, wearable piece of that monumental name. The curve shows a genuine double life: a solid early plateau from the 1890s through the 1930s, when Cleo was an ordinary name for both women and men, a long mid-century sleep, and a modern recovery that brings the 2020s level right back up to match the 1890s. That combination of vintage credentials and short-name modernity is exactly what current fashion wants. Glory in four letters, with a queen of Egypt on call whenever more formality is required. Its revival does not need Cleopatra to carry it: the short form now stands securely alone.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cleo peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
5,192 people · the #2,670 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 38,462 · median age 38
Among people named Cleo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 360 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Cleo
People given the name Cleo in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2025. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Cleo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cleo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cleo fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Cleo fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Cleo to your family’s tree →