Celso
Masculine · “Tall”
Celso is Latin for tall or lofty, and the Roman family name Celsus behind it belonged to a physician whose eight books on medicine were the first classical medical text printed after the invention of the press. It is ordinary in Italy, Spain and Portugal and rare everywhere else.
How old is the name Celso?
Celso first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Celso alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 1,900 people named Celso are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Celso most popular?
Celso peaked in 1910, reaching #1421 nationally. Today it ranks #5399, 3,978 places below that high. See the whole 1910 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Celsus to Celso
The story of Celso
Aulus Cornelius Celsus wrote De Medicina in the first century, the only surviving part of a much larger encyclopedia; it was printed in Florence in 1478 and shaped European medicine for centuries. A different Celsus wrote the most substantial pagan attack on Christianity of the second century. And a Saint Celsus, martyred with Nazarius at Milan, put the name into the calendar, which is how it came to Italy and Spain. Its American record follows Italian and Hispanic immigration, with a peak in 1910 that belongs to the great Italian wave, and steady low use since in Mexican-American and Filipino families.
Meaning
Tall, lofty, elevated
From Latin celsus, high or lofty, the past participle of a verb meaning to raise. The reading is settled. The same root gives excel and excelsior. Celsus was a Roman cognomen before it was a Christian name, and Italian, Spanish and Portuguese all give Celso.
How the name formed
- Celsus
- Celso
Related forms: Celso · Celso · Celso · Celsus · Celse
Pronouncing Celso
SEL-so
Two syllables, stress on the first. Italian says CHEL-so with a ch, because Italian c before e is soft in a different way; Castilian Spanish gives it a th sound. Latin American Spanish and English both use s.
Nicknames for Celso
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
- 1910
- Most boys named
- 200744 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1421reached in 1910
- Change vs 2023
- −15.0%17 in 2025, from 20
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.
Celso in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Celso in Italian — same name
- Celso in Spanish — same name
- Celso in Portuguese — same name
- Celsus in Latin — related form
- Celse in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Celsos among us
people named Celso are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 100,475 born in 2025 was named Celso
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
Celso 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
Celso beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Celso in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, short and flattering.
- It is spelled identically in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Two syllables and five letters keep it simple.
- Italian and Spanish say the opening consonant differently, which matters in mixed families.
- It has been rare in English-speaking countries throughout its history.
- Celso and Celsius are close enough to invite a joke.
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What they receive
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Celso
Masculine · #5399 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Celsos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Celso are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Celso in 2025?
- Celso ranks #5399 among US boy names in 2025, with 17 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Celso?
- About 1 in every 100,475 US boys born in 2025 was named Celso — 17 in all.
- Will my child share the name Celso with classmates?
- Celso will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Celso
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Frazier#5399 · Franz#5399 · Demetrio#5399 · Rolan#5399 · Rayvon#5399 · Riddick#5399 · Laramie#5399 · Soloman#5399
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Celso? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Celso and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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