Clelia is a feminine given name derived from the Latin Cloelia, associated with the root of the verb cluere "to have renown, fame," and the name therefore means "illustrious, famous."^[1] In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage, but managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber.^[2]

People named Clelia

• Clelia Barbieri (1847–1870), Italian Catholic saint
• Clelia Grillo Borromeo (1684–1777), Italian mathematician, scientist, and countess
• Clelia Farnese (c.1556–1613), daughter of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589)
• Clelia Durazzo Grimaldi (1760–1830), Italian botanist and marchesa
• Clelia Haji-Ioannou (born 1970/1971), Cypriot billionaire
• Clelia Matania (1918–1981), Italian actress
• Clelia Duel Mosher (1863–1940), American hygienist and women's health advocate
• Clelia Maria Josepha (Giuseppina) Strepponi (1815–1897), Italian operatic soprano, wife of Giuseppe Verdi
• Lilian Mercedes Letona, known as Commander Clelia (1954–1983), Salvadoran guerrilla and revolutionary
• Clelia Lollini (1890-1963), Italian medical doctor
• Clelia Murphy (1975–) Irish actress

Fictional characters

• Clélia Conti, a character in the novel The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
• Clélia, a character played by Sophie Marceau in the film La Fidélité
• Metastasio's libretto for "Il trionfo di Clelia" - opera set by Hasse, Gluck, and other composers
• Clelia Waldgrave, a character in "The Nerd," a two-act comedy written by American actor/playwright Larry Shue