Cecillia
Feminine · “from the Roman family Caecilius”
Cecillia is Cecilia with a doubled l, the name of the patron saint of music and of the astronomer who found out what the stars are made of. It is four syllables with a soft, singing middle.
How old is the name Cecillia?
Cecillia first appears in US birth records in 1907 — 118 years ago. The typical Cecillia alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 500 people named Cecillia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cecillia most popular?
Cecillia peaked in 1907, reaching #2061 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Caecilius to Cecillia
The story of Cecillia
Cecilia Payne left England because women could not take degrees at Cambridge, and at Harvard she wrote a doctoral thesis showing that the stars are made overwhelmingly of hydrogen and helium, a finding senior astronomers at first told her to play down and later accepted. It has been called the most brilliant thesis ever written in astronomy. The name she carried is the saint's, and Cecillia doubles its l, which no older form does.
Meaningscholars disagree
from the Roman family Caecilius, traditionally blind
Cecilia comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, which ancient writers linked to caecus, blind; the link is traditional rather than proven.
How the name formed
- Caecilius
- Caecilia
- Cecilia
- Cecillia
Related forms: Cecilia · Cécile · Cecilia
Pronouncing Cecillia
seh-SEEL-yuh
Stress on the second syllable, said like Cecilia.
Nicknames for Cecillia
Moderate
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
- 1907
- Most girls named
- 200720 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2061reached in 1907
- Change vs 2023
- +12.5%9 in 2024, from 8
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.
Cecillia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cecilia in Italian — same name
- Cécile in French — same name
- Cecilia in Spanish — same name
Cecillias among us
people named Cecillia are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Cecillia sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It sounds like a classic name with deep roots.
- Cece and Celia give two short forms.
- It connects to an admired scientist.
- People will write Cecilia, and the doubled l will need spelling out.
- The traditional meaning, blind, is one some families prefer not to mention.
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What they receive
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Cecillia
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Cecillias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Cecillia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cecillia in 2025?
- Cecillia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cecillia with classmates?
- Cecillia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cecillia? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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