Cesilia
Feminine
Cesilia writes a very old name with an s where English writes a c, which is exactly what a Spanish or Italian speaker would do with the sound. Behind it is a saint whose tomb produced one of the strangest sculptures in Rome.
How old is the name Cesilia?
Cesilia first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Cesilia alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 800 people named Cesilia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cesilia most popular?
Cesilia peaked in 1995, reaching #2735 nationally. See the whole 1995 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Cesilia
In the late fifteen-hundreds the tomb in the catacombs was opened, and the body was reported to be intact and lying on its side, turned away, with the head at an angle. A young sculptor was commissioned to record what had been seen, and the resulting marble is not a portrait or a devotional image: it is a figure lying face down, arms extended, unmistakably a body rather than a saint, with no face visible at all. It sits under the altar of the church in Trastevere and it is quietly one of the most disturbing things in the city, because it is not trying to console anyone. It is a piece of reportage in stone.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Cecilia comes from a Roman family name and its sense is documented. This spelling is not documented, and whether it arrived through Spanish, through Italian or simply from hearing is not recorded.
Pronouncing Cesilia
seh-SEE-lee-ah
Four syllables with the weight on the second. English speakers often reduce it to three, which is how the name is usually said here.
Nicknames for Cesilia
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
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 199544 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2735reached in 1995
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
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.
Cesilia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cecilia in Spanish — same name
- Cecilia in Italian — same name
- Cecylia in Polish — same name
Cesilias among us
people named Cesilia 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
Cesilia 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
- The name behind it is ancient, documented and used across Europe and Latin America.
- Lia comes off the back of it as a short form and is established in its own right.
- It works in English and Spanish-speaking households without adjustment.
- Cecilia is the standard spelling in both English and Spanish, so this one will be corrected regularly.
- The s for c will be read as an error by anybody who knows the name, which it is not exactly.
- No origin is documented for this form, so the meaning question belongs to the standard spelling.
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Cesilia
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Cesilias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Cesilia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cesilia in 2025?
- Cesilia is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cesilia with classmates?
- Cesilia 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 Cesilia? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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