The baby name Anticlea is a Female name , 4 syllables long and is pronounced an-TIK-lee-uh (IPA: /ˌæn.tɪˈkliː.ə/); Classical Greek approx. an-ti-KLAY-ah.
Anticlea is Greek in Origin.
The baby name Anticlea is a Female name , 4 syllables long and is pronounced an-TIK-lee-uh (IPA: /ˌæn.tɪˈkliː.ə/); Classical Greek approx. an-ti-KLAY-ah.
Anticlea is Greek in Origin.
Anticlea is the Latinized form of Ancient Greek Antikleia, built from anti- “against; in return for; equivalent to” and kleos “glory, fame.” The compound is variously interpreted as “counter-glory,” “one who matches fame,” or “equal to renown,” reflecting the flexible sense of anti- in Greek personal names. The -kleia ending is the feminine counterpart to kleos, seen across several classical women’s names.
Best known from Homeric epic, Anticlea is the mother of Odysseus, daughter of Autolycus and wife of Laertes; Odysseus meets her shade in the Odyssey’s Underworld. As a given name beyond myth, it is rare but appears sporadically in Renaissance humanist records and 19th‑century classicizing circles. Principal variants and transliterations include Antikleia, Anticleia, and the French Anticlée; English typically favors Anticlea. Related short forms sometimes cited are Kleia/Clia, though these also occur independently in modern Greek.
Anticlea does not appear in any of the birth registries or name datasets we track. This usually means it's either extremely rare, a regional/traditional name not captured by official statistics, or a brand-new coinage. Use it knowing your child will almost certainly be the only one in the room.
Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!