Celestine
Feminine · “heavenly”
Celestine is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 9,809 girls against 232 boys since 1880.
Celestine is the Latin word for heavenly given a feminine ending, and it has been carried by popes, saints and a pale blue mineral. It was in real American use at the turn of the twentieth century and has been quiet since.
How old is the name Celestine?
Celestine was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Celestine alive today was born around 1946, making them about 79 years old. About 5,100 people named Celestine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Celestine most popular?
Celestine peaked in 1902, reaching #490 nationally. Today it ranks #3211, 2,721 places below that high. See the whole 1902 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From caelestis to Celestine
The story of Celestine
Caelestinus was a late Roman name that several popes carried, one of whom founded an order that took his name. French made Célestine of the feminine, and it was in steady use in France and in French-speaking North America through the nineteenth century. American records show it in numbers around 1900, in Catholic and Creole families in particular, and the pale blue strontium mineral named celestine was so called for exactly the same reason the name was.
Meaning
heavenly, of the sky
From Latin caelestis, of the heavens, formed on caelum, sky; the same root gives ceiling and celestial.
How the name formed
- caelestis
- Caelestinus
- Célestine
Related forms: Célestine · Celestina · Celestina · Celestyna
Pronouncing Celestine
SEL-uh-steen
Three syllables, first stressed, in English. French gives say-les-TEEN, with the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Celestine
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
- 1952195 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #490reached in 1902
- Change vs 2022
- +58.1%49 in 2025, from 31
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.
Celestine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Célestine in French — same name
- Celestina in Italian — same name
- Celestina in Spanish — same name
- Celestyna in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Celestines among us
people named Celestine are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,801 born in 2025 was named Celestine
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
Celestine 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 Celestine is headed
Celestine should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Celestine beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Celestine in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Latin meaning, concrete and easy to explain to a child.
- Several complete names sit inside it — Celeste, Tina — so she can choose.
- Real American history around the turn of the twentieth century, not a modern revival.
- Celeste is much better known and will be written and said for her.
- The English and French pronunciations differ in stress and in every vowel.
- Three syllables and nine letters is a great deal for a small hand.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Celestine
Feminine · #3211 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Celestines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,100 people named Celestine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Celestine in 2025?
- Celestine ranks #3211 among US girl names in 2025, with 49 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Celestine?
- About 1 in every 32,801 US girls born in 2025 was named Celestine — 49 in all.
- Will my child share the name Celestine with classmates?
- Celestine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Celestine
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kristine#3211 · Jalaya#3211 · Gladys#3211 · Amyah#3211 · Dhara#3211 · Janelly#3211 · Dariela#3211 · Quetzalli#3211
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Celestine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Celestine and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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