girl's name
Cecilia
suh-SEE-lee-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 137,738
the United States
#108
2025 births
Cecilia is a girl's name of Latin origin from the Roman family name Caecilius, which derives from caecus, meaning blind. Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music, an association that arose from a mistranslation of her own legend.
- Cecilia is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 2,506 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,323 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Cecilia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 630 |
| 1890s | 1,504 |
| 1900s | 2,318 |
| 1910s | 5,705 |
| 1920s | 6,912 |
| 1930s | 5,033 |
| 1940s | 8,021 |
| 1950s | 9,983 |
| 1960s | 7,857 |
| 1970s | 5,599 |
| 1980s | 7,062 |
| 1990s | 10,152 |
| 2000s | 11,989 |
| 2010s | 16,150 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 12,773 |
What Cecilia means
Cecilia means blind, from the Latin caecus, as an inherited clan name rather than a description of anyone. The musical association it now carries has nothing to do with the meaning and everything to do with a misread line in her story.
Where Cecilia comes from
Cecilia comes from the Latin Caecilia, feminine of the Roman family name Caecilius, from caecus, blind — a common way of forming clan names from a physical characteristic of some remote ancestor. Saint Cecilia was a Roman martyr of the second or third century, and her account records that during her wedding she sang in her heart to God. A later reading took this as her singing to musical instruments, and by the Renaissance she was firmly established as the patron saint of music and of musicians, celebrated in odes by Dryden and settings by Purcell and Handel. The name has been in English use since the Norman period.
Cecilia in use
Cecilia became the patron saint of music through a misreading — her legend says she sang in her heart, not to instruments.
How popular is Cecilia?
In 2025, Cecilia was given to 2,506 babies in the United States, ranking #108 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Cecilia is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Cecilia is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Cécilia | Cécilia is Cecilia written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,343. | 20,050 |
| Cecília | Cecília is a rare spelling of Cecilia, written with a fada and recorded 16 times, mostly in Ireland. | 16 |
Names that peaked alongside Cecilia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Cecilia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cecilia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Cecilia
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Cecilia in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Cecilia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cecilia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Cecilia
What does the name Cecilia mean?
Cecilia comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, from caecus, meaning blind.
Why is Cecilia the patron saint of music?
Through a misreading of her legend — the text says she sang in her heart, later taken as singing to instruments.
What are nicknames for Cecilia?
Cece and Cilla are the most common short forms.
How popular is the name Cecilia?
In 2025, Cecilia was given to 2,506 babies in the United States, ranking #108 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Cecilia a girl's or a boy's name?
Cecilia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Cecilia?
Cecilia has 3 syllables.
When was Cecilia most popular?
Cecilia peaked in 2025, when 2,506 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Cecilia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cecilia currently ranks #108 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.