Cecelia
Feminine
Cecelia is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 60,519 girls against 11 boys since 1880.
Cecelia is one of the two long-standing English spellings of a name that has been in continuous use since Roman times, carried forward by the third-century martyr Cecilia, later named patron saint of music and church singers. Chaucer told her story in the Canterbury Tales; church choirs have sung her feast day for centuries. Spoken aloud it moves in a soft ripple of s-sounds, ending on the same open vowel as Amelia and Julia.
How old is the name Cecelia?
Cecelia was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cecelia alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 33,500 people named Cecelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cecelia most popular?
Cecelia peaked in 1884, reaching #169 nationally. Today it ranks #529, 360 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Cecelia appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Caecilius to Cecelia
The story of Cecelia
The name begins as Caecilia, the feminine form of Caecilius, one of the great family names of the Roman Republic. Its later life belongs almost entirely to Saint Cecilia, a Roman martyr venerated from the early centuries of the church and eventually made patron saint of music — an association that gave the name churches, feast-day odes and Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale. Medieval England took it in as Cecily and Cecilia, and both forms traveled to America with Catholic and Anglican families alike. Cecelia, with the middle e, is a spelling that took hold in English-language records and has held its place ever since, strongest in the older industrial states of the Northeast and Midwest.
Meaning
from the Roman family name Caecilius, linked to Latin caecus, "blind"
The Latin path is well documented. Worth knowing that Caecilius was a large Roman clan name, so the "blind" sense belonged to an ancestor of the family, not to anyone who has carried the name since.
How the name formed
- Caecilius
- Caecilia
- Cecilia
- Cecily
- Cecelia
Related forms: Cecilia · Cecilia · Cécile · Cecylia · Cäcilia · Cecilia
Pronouncing Cecelia
suh-SEEL-yuh
Also said suh-SEE-lee-uh, with four syllables. Both are standard and the same speaker will often use each depending on how quickly they are talking.
Nicknames for Cecelia
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1918935 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #169reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- −5.0%569 in 2025, from 599
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cecelia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cecilia in Italian — same name
- Cecilia in Spanish — same name
- Cécile in French — related form
- Cecylia in Polish — same name
- Cäcilia in German — same name
- Cecilia in Swedish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York.
Cecelias among us
people named Cecelia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,825 born in 2025 was named Cecelia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Cecelia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Cecelia is headed
Cecelia should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Cecelia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cecelia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Unbroken use from Roman antiquity through the medieval church to the present day — one of the longest documented records any English name has.
- Works in Italian, Spanish, Polish, German and Swedish with only a small change of spelling or accent.
- Several well-worn short forms already exist — Cece, Celia, Cissy — so no nickname has to be invented.
- Familiar enough that no one has to ask what the name is, while a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Cecilia is the more common spelling worldwide, so this version will be quietly corrected on forms, emails and school lists for life. Most people who carry it learn to spell it out once and move on.
- Two pronunciations circulate, three syllables and four, and both are correct — which means a Cecelia will hear it said either way and may end up choosing one herself.
- The old short form Sissy has other meanings in American English, which is worth knowing even though Cece has largely taken its place.
- It sits strongest among older generations in the US, so it may read as a grandmother's name to some ears and as a fresh find to others.
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What they receive
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Cecelia
Feminine · #529 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Cecelias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 33,500 people named Cecelia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cecelia in 2025?
- Cecelia ranks #529 among US girl names in 2025, with 569 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cecelia?
- About 1 in every 2,825 US girls born in 2025 was named Cecelia — 569 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cecelia with classmates?
- Cecelia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cecelia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jayla#529 · Romina#529 · Skye#529 · Amoura#527 · Lottie#527 · Nellie#533 · Phoenix#533 · Virginia#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cecelia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cecelia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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