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Cecilia

Gender
Girl
Say it
se-SEE-lee-a
Origin
Latin
UK rank, 2025
#186 for girls
US rank, 2025
#108 for girls

Cecilia is a girls' name of Latin origin, meaning “blind”. In 2025 it ranked 186th for girls in the UK (297 babies) and 108th for girls in the US (2,506 babies).

What does Cecilia mean?

Latin: feminine of the Roman family name Caecilius, from caecus

“blind”

St Cecilia, an early Roman martyr, is the patron saint of music and musicians.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Cecilia a girl's or a boy's name?

Cecilia is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 297 girls in the UK and 2,506 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Cecilia in the UK?

Rank in 2025
186th among girls
Babies in 2025
297 about 1 in 940 girls
Five-year trend
Rising fast up 138% in five years
Same name in a class
1.5% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 297 girls in the UK were named Cecilia, making it the 186th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 429th.

It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had the most girls named Cecilia of any year since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Cecilia in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 392 girls in the UK were given Cecilia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #161, up from #186 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 172nd in England and Wales, 359th in Scotland and 259th in Northern Ireland.

1996Busiest: 297 in 20252025
Cecilia in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025297#186
2024233#224
2023194#258
2022151#321
2021162#326
2020110#429
201994#488
2018100#484
201776#609
2016101#477
201590#523
201479#583
201377#587
201287#538
201169#636
201058#696
200961#663
200871#586
200756#678
200644#772
200531#943
200434#866
200336#804
200241#700
200132#819
200049#606
199935#738
199835#746
199733#788
199629#837

How popular is Cecilia in the US?

Rank in 2025
108th among girls
Babies in 2025
2,506 about 1 in 640 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 23% in five years
Same name in a class
2.2% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 2,506 girls in the US were named Cecilia, making it the 108th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 147th.

It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had the most girls named Cecilia of any year since the records began in 1880.

Half of all the girls named Cecilia in the US since 1880 were born between 1947 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 3,075 girls in the US were given Cecilia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #103, up from #108 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 2,506 in 20252025
Cecilia in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20252,506#108
20242,248#123
20232,058#137
20222,006#145
20212,095#133
20201,860#147
20191,861#153
20181,809#155
20171,815#168
20161,827#177
20151,782#181
20141,640#206
20131,434#224
20121,463#215
20111,317#242
20101,202#277
20091,235#266
20081,259#271
20071,242#276
20061,245#264
20051,189#281
20041,178#279
20031,162#271
20021,171#269
20011,166#269
20001,137#283
19991,103#285
19981,053#285
1997962#300
19961,072#269
19951,128#251
1994969#286
1993998#278
19921,017#275
1991965#291
1990847#326
1989810#314
1988728#337
1987743#329
1986686#349
1985657#358
1984723#325
1983640#352
1982664#353
1981683#342
1980654#361
1979636#356
1978556#379
1977520#399
1976516#397
1975512#398
1974539#386
1973501#400
1972569#376
1971599#383
1970621#383
1969545#406
1968550#390
1967620#360
1966644#357
1965733#332
1964835#328
1963869#317
19621,055#277
1961965#297
19601,036#283
19591,042#275
19581,002#279
19571,057#266
1956997#272
19551,004#270
1954984#267
19531,038#252
1952984#250
1951954#247
1950921#249
1949944#242
1948955#241
1947973#242
1946802#250
1945656#264
1944704#258
1943842#233
1942831#233
1941670#251
1940629#252
1939562#261
1938549#268
1937560#262
1936507#269
1935487#274
1934438#296
1933431#291
1932468#287
1931459#291
1930567#262
1929500#290
1928570#272
1927654#258
1926717#246
1925705#251
1924768#237
1923742#238
1922733#240
1921761#236
1920757#237
1919746#228
1918755#229
1917704#233
1916685#233
1915723#221
1914525#234
1913485#214
1912453#210
1911342#207
1910287#225
1909257#220
1908263#206
1907234#215
1906219#208
1905237#197
1904250#190
1903218#192
1902195#214
1901196#202
1900249#199
1899205#195
1898213#201
1897160#214
1896168#213
1895138#232
1894144#221
1893126#235
1892138#221
1891121#219
189091#262
188989#247
188897#234
188783#228
188668#252
188571#236
188463#239
188339#282
188237#290
188139#257
188044#233

Nicknames for Cecilia

Names like Cecilia

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Aurelia, Lucia, Emilia, Ophelia, Amelia, Clara, Nora, Aurora, Alba, Sophia, Cora, Clementine

Other spellings of Cecilia

Cecelia

Names related to Cecilia

Cecily, Cecilie, Cecile, Cecillia, Ceceilia, Cecila

More Latin names

Oliver, Olivia, Leo, Roman, Emily, Florence, Mabel, Luna, Rosie, Max, Nova, Lucy, Julian, Anthony, Austin, Felix

Every Latin name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Cecilia: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cecilia, updated 20 October 2026.