Name of the Week

With her youthful zest, Chloe has gone from ancient appellation,
to literary favourite, and now modern classic. 

 

Origin:

Chloe is the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek name Khloe (Χλόη), which in Greek meant "green voliage, tender verdure, young green shoot" and was a relative of khloros ""greenish-yellow, fresh." The poetic feminine form of khloros was Khloris (greenness, freshness), a name used for the goddess of flowers. Khloe was used, very appropraiately, as an epithet of Demeter, goddess of the harvest and basically all things horticultural. In her case, it was used in the context of "Demeter the Verdant."

Usage:

The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has nineteen examples of Khloe (Χλόη) in use. The majority of citations come from Central Greece, followed by the Aegean Islands and Cyprus.  Its use within Greek society led to its appearance in the New Testament; in 1 Corinthians 1:11, Chloe is mentioned as a Christian woman of Corinth who opened her home to other Christians. Similarly, the tale of Daphnis and Chloe was a 2nd century AD romance written by Aegean-native author Longus.  In Britain, Chloe first came into use in the 16th century. It was uncommon initially -- and quite often spelt Cloe -- though it picked up more usage by the 18th century. This increase was in a large part thanks to its use in literature, particularly by the pastoral poets. The romance of Daphnis and Chloe was translated several times from the 17th-19th centuries and also became a familiar subject of art.   Alexander Pope's famous narrative poem The Rape of the Lock (1712) featured a character named Chloe, thought to be based on his friend Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (1689-1767). Similarly, Jonathan Swift's poem Strephon and Chloe (1734) made both names archetypes names for a pair of lovers in pastoral poetry. Births in England and Wales show how, across the 19th and 20th century, Chloe went from uncommon literary choice to mainstream favourite: 1840-9: 1 birth 1850-9: 7 births 1860-9: 9 births 1870-9: 25 births 1880-9: 40 births 1890-9: 36 births 1900-9: 44 births 1910-9: 36 births 1920-9: 44 births 1930-9: 71 births 1940-9: 88 births 1950-9: 79 births 1960-9: 171 births It wasn't until the 1970s that Chloe really began to make its mark in naming circles, becoming mainstream by the 1980s. This can be seen by Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name Chloe in every 10,000 births in England and Wales over the 20th century:  1900 1925  1935 1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990    -     -      -    -     -     -      -     4      10     18    18    112   In 1984, Chloe entered the top 100 of England and Wales for the first time at #97. Ten years later, in 1994, it had shot up in a meteoric rise to #11 and by 1997 it was #1, where it stayed for the next five years. It remained in the top 10 until 2010.  In the same way, in Scotland, Chloe was #1 from 1998 to 2002, and remained in the top 10 until 2011.  Similarly, in Northern Ireland, Chloe was also #1 from 1997 to 2002 and has fluctuated within the top 20 since.  In 2013, Chloe ranked #18 in England and Wales, #12 in Scotland and #18 in Northern Ireland.   Chloe has also made its mark internationally in recent years. In 2012, Chloe ranked #3 in France, #5 in New South Wales, #7 in Canada, #11 in New Zealand, #14 in the USA, #15 in Ireland and Belgium and #95 in Spain.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Chloe Ardelia (b.1931), birth name of American author Toni Morrison. * Chloë Annett (b.1971), British actress. * Chloe Hooper (b.1973), Australian author. * Chloë Sevigny (b.1974), American actress. * Chloe Moss (b.1976), British playwright. * Khloé Kardashian (b.1984), American TV personality. * Chloë Agnew (b.1989), Irish singer and member of Celtic Woman. Literature and Other Media: * Aunt Chloe, a character in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe. * Chloe, the heroine of the poem The Fable of the Bees (1705) by Bernard Mandeville. * Chloe, character in the operetta Orpheus in the Underworld (1858) by Jacques Offenbach

Variants:

Khloe, Chloé, Cloé (French), Cloe (Spanish), Cloé (Portuguese)

Pronunciation:

KLŌ-ee [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Clo, Chlo, Coco, Lolly

Sibling Names:

Sophie     Ruby     Ella     Freya     Georgia     Bethany  Adam     Joshua     Jack     Callum     Ethan     Nathan

Name Lists:

Dulcet Dainties   Popular Biblical   Names from Austen  Names of Roses   Green Names

 

If you like Chloe you may also like:  Zoe, Cleo, Sienna, Olivia, Clelie, Ava, Lola, Aoife, Emily, Leonie

 

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this post.