Head to head · Girls' names
Catalina vs Cecilia
#111 vs #108 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Cecilia is a whisker ahead (#108 vs #111 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Cecilia leads 5 measures of 6; Catalina leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Catalina —, Cecilia #250 — Cecilia higher
- 1890s: Catalina #1332, Cecilia #221 — Cecilia higher
- 1900s: Catalina #1470, Cecilia #204 — Cecilia higher
- 1910s: Catalina #1290, Cecilia #223 — Cecilia higher
- 1920s: Catalina #815, Cecilia #251 — Cecilia higher
- 1930s: Catalina #913, Cecilia #276 — Cecilia higher
- 1940s: Catalina #1289, Cecilia #247 — Cecilia higher
- 1950s: Catalina #1375, Cecilia #263 — Cecilia higher
- 1960s: Catalina #1350, Cecilia #335 — Cecilia higher
- 1970s: Catalina #1183, Cecilia #386 — Cecilia higher
- 1980s: Catalina #1131, Cecilia #342 — Cecilia higher
- 1990s: Catalina #892, Cecilia #285 — Cecilia higher
- 2000s: Catalina #721, Cecilia #273 — Cecilia higher
- 2010s: Catalina #390, Cecilia #200 — Cecilia higher
- 2020s: Catalina #147, Cecilia #132 — Cecilia higher
Cecilia stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Catalina | Cecilia |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #250 |
| 1890s | #1332 | #221 |
| 1900s | #1470 | #204 |
| 1910s | #1290 | #223 |
| 1920s | #815 | #251 |
| 1930s | #913 | #276 |
| 1940s | #1289 | #247 |
| 1950s | #1375 | #263 |
| 1960s | #1350 | #335 |
| 1970s | #1183 | #386 |
| 1980s | #1131 | #342 |
| 1990s | #892 | #285 |
| 2000s | #721 | #273 |
| 2010s | #390 | #200 |
| 2020s | #147 | #132 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Catalina
Traditionally read as "pure", though the original meaning is genuinely unresolved
The Greek original, Aikaterine, has no agreed source. The "pure" reading comes from Greek katharos and attached itself later, when the Latin spelling was reshaped as Katharina under Christian influence; older scholarship has also tried to connect it to the goddess Hecate. Both readings are serious, and neither has won.
Aikaterine → Catharina → Catalina
How it traveled
The line begins with the Greek Aikaterine, borne by Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose cult spread across medieval Europe and pulled the name into almost every language it touched. In Latin it became Catharina; in Castilian Spanish it settled as Catalina, and stayed there — Catalina de Aragón, the Spanish princess who became Henry VIII's first queen, is the form's most famous medieval bearer.
Cecilia
from the Roman family name Caecilius, itself from Latin caecus, "blind"
Worth knowing how the chain works: Caecilius was an inherited clan name in Rome, so no one was ever describing a person when they used it. The word behind it is the plain Latin adjective, and the connection is standard in the reference literature.
Caecilius → Caecilia → Cecilia → Cecily
How it traveled
The Caecilii were one of the well-known families of the Roman Republic, and Caecilia was simply the feminine form a daughter of that house would carry. What lifted it out of Roman genealogy was Saint Cecilia, a martyr honored in Rome from late antiquity onward, whose church still stands in Trastevere; by the late Middle Ages she was the patron of music and musicians.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Catalina
kah-tah-LEE-nah
That is the Spanish reading. In English-dominant settings it usually flattens to kat-uh-LEE-nuh. Both are widely heard in the US, and either is correct — worth deciding early which one you will offer when introducing her.
- Cata — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; rarely used as a full given name on its own.
- Lina — Taken from the end of the name; also exists independently as a given name in several languages.
- Cati — Informal, common in Spain and Latin America, sometimes written Katy in English-speaking settings.
- Cat — An English-language shortening, informal and usually school-age or later.
- Also Katie, Talina.
Cecilia
suh-SEEL-yuh
Also said suh-SEE-lee-uh with four full syllables; both are standard in American English. In Italian it is che-CHEE-lya, in Spanish seh-SEE-lya, so relatives abroad may say it differently without saying it wrong.
- Cece — The most widely used short form in American English; also written CeCe and given on its own to some children.
- Celia — Informal short form, but long established as an independent given name in its own right.
- Cilla — Used in English and, more commonly, in Sweden and Britain.
- Sissy — An older family nickname, still heard among earlier generations; carries a separate slang sense in American English.
- Also Lia.
Who has carried each name
Catalina
Catalina Sandino Moreno (b. 1981) — Oscar-nominated for Maria Full of Grace
Cecilia
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (b. 1900) — Astronomer who discovered what stars are made of
Cecilia Bartoli (b. 1966) — Opera superstar mezzo-soprano
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Catalina if you want…
- a name on the way upup 68 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itCatalina runs 4 syllables, Cecilia 3
- a newer arrivalCatalina entered the US charts in 1893
Choose Cecilia if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesCecilia is 3 syllables to Catalina's 4
- a long American recordCecilia was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Catalina
Strengths
- An unbroken record from the early Christian centuries to now, in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian and English forms.
- Reads correctly in both English and Spanish without respelling, and has a direct equivalent in most European languages.
- Several established short forms already in real use — Cata, Cati, Lina, Cat — so nothing has to be invented.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate side by side in the US, the Spanish kah-tah-LEE-nah and the anglicized kat-uh-LEE-nuh. She will hear both, and will likely spend her life choosing which to correct.
- The K spelling, Katalina, exists and will be guessed at times, as will Catalena. Not constant trouble, but expect to spell it aloud.
- It is climbing steadily rather than sitting still, so it is likely to feel more common by the time she reaches school than it does tonight.
Cecilia
Strengths
- Recognized in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Polish and Scandinavian forms — it crosses borders without needing to be re-explained.
- A written record stretching from Republican Rome to this year's kindergartens, with no gap long enough to make it feel like a revival.
- Several long-established short forms — Cece, Celia, Cilla — so a child has real choices without inventing anything.
To consider
- Cecelia is a genuine rival spelling, and Cecilia will be written that way by some people for life. Worth deciding early which one goes on the forms and saying it the same way every time.
- Two accepted pronunciations means she will hear both, and will have to correct people or let it go. Neither is a mistake, which makes it harder to insist on one.
- The Simon and Garfunkel song of the same name has been sung at every Cecilia for decades, and probably will be again.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Catalina and Cecilia in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Catalina and Cecilia?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- About to go mainstream: next year's top-100
- Names at their all-time peak, right now
- The sweet spot: familiar but not everywhere
- all guides
Every list here names both Catalina and Cecilia — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Catalina or Cecilia — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Catalina or Cecilia?
- Cecilia, in 2025: Cecilia ranked #108 with 2,506 babies; Catalina ranked #111 with 2,456 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Catalina or Cecilia?
- Catalina. Over the last five years Catalina moved up 68 places; Cecilia moved up 39 places.
- Which is the older name, Catalina or Cecilia?
- Catalina entered the US charts in 1893; Cecilia was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Cecilia is the older name.
- How many people are named Catalina and Cecilia?
- About 31,000 people named Catalina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 84,500 people named Cecilia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Catalinas or Cecilias in the classroom?
- Catalina will almost certainly be the only one in school. Cecilia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Catalina, Cecilia and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap