Cecelia
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Meaning
variant of Cecilia, from Roman clan name Caecilius, related to 'caecus' (blind)
Goes by CeCe. See all nicknames
The story
Cecelia is the e-heavy spelling of Cecilia, the Roman clan name tradition ties to caecus and the saint who became music's patroness, and its American record never once went dark: about 1,800 girls in the 1890s, 7,200 in the 1920s, 7,400 in the 1940s, two separate midcentury waves, then a long ebb to about 1,800 a decade in the 1970s and 1980s, and the revival, 5,200 in the 2010s and 3,370 so far this decade. In our records it goes to girls about 59,700 to 11 boys, beside Cecilia at about 110,900 girls with her own story. Two spellings have shared the saint's music for more than a century, and the ear cannot tell them apart: only the certificate knows which one grandmother carried.
Cecelia across languages
One shared root links 4 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from the Roman clan name Caecilius, tied to caecus "blind"; the music-loving martyr St. Cecilia carried it across Europe
The constellation
How popular is Cecelia around the world?
In the United States, 3,374 babies were named Cecelia between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 95 girls named Cecelia were born in 2025, the 426th most common name among girls that year.
Cecelia is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, Scotland, Canada, South Australia and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,500
In the United States, 3,374 babies were named Cecelia between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cecelia peaked in the 1890s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Cecelia has stayed between 1,825 and 6,898 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 6,200
In England and Wales, 95 girls named Cecelia were born in 2025, the 426th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 6,500
In Scotland, 7 girls named Cecelia were registered in 2024, the 431st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 17,000
In Canada, 22 girls named Cecelia were born in 2024, ranked 1,151st among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Cecelia in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Brazil
1 in 250,000
At the 2022 census, 796 people in Brazil were named Cecelia, ranked 9,710th, with a median age of 14.
Among people named Cecelia living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 194 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2024
Cecelia is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Cecelia
People given the name Cecelia in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Cecelia deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cecelia truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cecelia fits with your family’s names and surname.
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