Orpheus - Name Meaning and Origin

The boy's name Orpheus \o-rpheus, or-pheus\ is of Greek origin. Possibly "beautiful voice". In Greek mythology, Orpheus was given his lyre by Apollo himself. Trained by the Muses, he developed into a musician so talented he could literally move mountains with his song. When his wife, Eurydice, died from a snake bite, he descended into the realm of the dead to win her back to life. The gods were so moved by his music that they agreed to her return on the condition that Orpheus not look back at her as he led her upward to the sky. He could not resist glancing at her, and she vanished back into Hades. The tragedy of his gallant failure has been made into several operas.

Orpheus has 2 variant forms: Orfeo and Orphie.

A baby name that sounds like Orpheus is Arvis.

Orpheus is a very rare male first name and a very rare surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the boy's name Orpheus. Click here to compare Orpheus with related baby names.