The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰelh₃-, which relates to the colors yellow and green.

[2][citation needed] The common scientific prefix chloro- (e.g. chlorine and chloroplast) derives from the same Greek root.

[3] The name appears in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 1:11 in the context of "the house of Chloe", a leading early Christian woman in Corinth, Greece.

[7] Chloe was among the five most popular names for newborn girls of Asian descent in the American state of Virginia in 2022.

The United States Social Security Administration noted that a number of parents of girls initially named “Chole” on their birth certificates had filed to correct the spelling to “Chloe” between 2017 and 2022.