Cecelia
Cecelia was given to 569 girls in 2025, #529 among girls’ names; 60,530 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 32,100 Americans named Cecelia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (53% of everyone recorded); the median is 45 years old and half are between 15 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cecelia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cecelia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cecelia is “a female given name from Latin, variant of Cecilia.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cecelia?
#529 among girls’ names, 2025
Cecelia rose from #544 in 2015 to #529 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.32 to 0.35 per 1,000.
935 babies in 1918, the peak
Cecelia peaked in 1918, when 935 girls were given it, #205 among girls’ names. The 569 births of 2025 are 61% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 569 | #529 | 0.35 |
| 2024 | 530 | #571 | 0.33 |
| 2023 | 617 | #497 | 0.38 |
| 2022 | 599 | #519 | 0.37 |
| 2021 | 548 | #561 | 0.33 |
| 2020 | 511 | #573 | 0.32 |
| 2019 | 557 | #546 | 0.33 |
| 2018 | 512 | #594 | 0.30 |
| 2017 | 585 | #529 | 0.34 |
| 2016 | 579 | #537 | 0.33 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 572 | #544 | 0.32 |
| 2014 | 535 | #571 | 0.30 |
| 2013 | 535 | #552 | 0.30 |
| 2012 | 484 | #596 | 0.27 |
| 2011 | 434 | #656 | 0.25 |
| 2010 | 377 | #739 | 0.21 |
| 2009 | 393 | #737 | 0.21 |
| 2008 | 387 | #761 | 0.20 |
| 2007 | 367 | #785 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 423 | #673 | 0.22 |
| 2005 | 420 | #660 | 0.23 |
| 2004 | 386 | #697 | 0.21 |
| 2003 | 341 | #746 | 0.19 |
| 2002 | 328 | #740 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 313 | #763 | 0.17 |
| 2000 | 296 | #771 | 0.16 |
| 1999 | 291 | #760 | 0.16 |
| 1998 | 264 | #805 | 0.15 |
| 1997 | 232 | #875 | 0.13 |
| 1996 | 284 | #743 | 0.16 |
| 1995 | 248 | #799 | 0.14 |
| 1994 | 232 | #852 | 0.13 |
| 1993 | 246 | #811 | 0.14 |
| 1992 | 206 | #939 | 0.11 |
| 1991 | 212 | #909 | 0.11 |
| 1990 | 231 | #848 | 0.12 |
| 1989 | 200 | #906 | 0.11 |
| 1988 | 215 | #837 | 0.12 |
| 1987 | 211 | #826 | 0.12 |
| 1986 | 173 | #926 | 0.10 |
| 1985 | 180 | #886 | 0.10 |
| 1984 | 177 | #863 | 0.11 |
| 1983 | 187 | #820 | 0.11 |
| 1982 | 168 | #900 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 153 | #956 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 161 | #928 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 151 | #959 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 127 | #1,057 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 130 | #1,027 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 135 | #946 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 167 | #818 | 0.11 |
| 1974 | 165 | #815 | 0.11 |
| 1973 | 192 | #731 | 0.13 |
| 1972 | 212 | #691 | 0.14 |
| 1971 | 249 | #652 | 0.15 |
| 1970 | 309 | #575 | 0.18 |
| 1969 | 209 | #689 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 269 | #584 | 0.16 |
| 1967 | 272 | #579 | 0.16 |
| 1966 | 286 | #563 | 0.17 |
| 1965 | 330 | #526 | 0.19 |
| 1964 | 374 | #507 | 0.20 |
| 1963 | 470 | #446 | 0.24 |
| 1962 | 523 | #424 | 0.27 |
| 1961 | 565 | #410 | 0.28 |
| 1960 | 559 | #406 | 0.28 |
| 1959 | 670 | #370 | 0.33 |
| 1958 | 614 | #368 | 0.31 |
| 1957 | 681 | #346 | 0.33 |
| 1956 | 666 | #341 | 0.33 |
| 1955 | 655 | #332 | 0.33 |
| 1954 | 679 | #325 | 0.35 |
| 1953 | 691 | #312 | 0.37 |
| 1952 | 713 | #298 | 0.38 |
| 1951 | 761 | #285 | 0.42 |
| 1950 | 768 | #277 | 0.45 |
| 1949 | 851 | #261 | 0.50 |
| 1948 | 843 | #263 | 0.50 |
| 1947 | 890 | #249 | 0.50 |
| 1946 | 712 | #272 | 0.45 |
| 1945 | 628 | #275 | 0.48 |
| 1944 | 645 | #271 | 0.49 |
| 1943 | 782 | #246 | 0.56 |
| 1942 | 836 | #230 | 0.62 |
| 1941 | 609 | #258 | 0.50 |
| 1940 | 567 | #261 | 0.50 |
| 1939 | 534 | #268 | 0.49 |
| 1938 | 514 | #279 | 0.47 |
| 1937 | 474 | #283 | 0.45 |
| 1936 | 471 | #278 | 0.45 |
| 1935 | 409 | #301 | 0.39 |
| 1934 | 374 | #323 | 0.36 |
| 1933 | 403 | #310 | 0.40 |
| 1932 | 434 | #304 | 0.41 |
| 1931 | 453 | #295 | 0.43 |
| 1930 | 526 | #286 | 0.47 |
| 1929 | 559 | #271 | 0.50 |
| 1928 | 579 | #270 | 0.50 |
| 1927 | 622 | #265 | 0.52 |
| 1926 | 685 | #251 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 721 | #247 | 0.59 |
| 1924 | 742 | #245 | 0.59 |
| 1923 | 786 | #234 | 0.65 |
| 1922 | 760 | #236 | 0.63 |
| 1921 | 825 | #226 | 0.67 |
| 1920 | 890 | #217 | 0.74 |
| 1919 | 867 | #212 | 0.77 |
| 1918 | 935 | #205 | 0.81 |
| 1917 | 920 | #201 | 0.85 |
| 1916 | 883 | #200 | 0.85 |
| 1915 | 821 | #200 | 0.83 |
| 1914 | 679 | #196 | 0.89 |
| 1913 | 536 | #198 | 0.86 |
| 1912 | 513 | #191 | 0.92 |
| 1911 | 416 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 335 | #196 | 0.84 |
| 1909 | 294 | #198 | 0.85 |
| 1908 | 325 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 321 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1906 | 290 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1905 | 293 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1904 | 272 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 242 | #189 | 0.92 |
| 1902 | 243 | #187 | 0.92 |
| 1901 | 249 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1900 | 264 | #195 | 0.88 |
| 1899 | 214 | #190 | 0.92 |
| 1898 | 229 | #192 | 0.88 |
| 1897 | 212 | #187 | 0.91 |
| 1896 | 190 | #200 | 0.80 |
| 1895 | 163 | #213 | 0.70 |
| 1894 | 159 | #212 | 0.71 |
| 1893 | 182 | #192 | 0.85 |
| 1892 | 175 | #191 | 0.82 |
| 1891 | 130 | #205 | 0.70 |
| 1890 | 130 | #211 | 0.68 |
| 1889 | 138 | #193 | 0.77 |
| 1888 | 113 | #216 | 0.63 |
| 1887 | 92 | #216 | 0.63 |
| 1886 | 96 | #201 | 0.66 |
| 1885 | 84 | #215 | 0.63 |
| 1884 | 109 | #169 | 0.84 |
| 1883 | 67 | #218 | 0.60 |
| 1882 | 55 | #233 | 0.51 |
| 1881 | 51 | #213 | 0.55 |
| 1880 | 47 | #226 | 0.52 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Cecelia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cecelia has been given almost only to girls: 11 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cecelia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cecelia, and how old are they?
32,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 53% of the 60,530 Americans ever recorded as Cecelia. The median Cecelia alive today is 45 years old; half are between 15 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 31,176 people named Cecelia (31,138 women and girls, 38 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 32,058 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,140 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 9,660 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,230 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,680 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,210 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cecelia born?
The states with the most babies named Cecelia are Pennsylvania, New York and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 5,743 | #279 | 1.6× |
| New York | 5,220 | #522 | 1.1× |
| California | 4,034 | #1,371 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 2,927 | #578 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 2,519 | #249 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 2,253 | #343 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 2,222 | #1,197 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 1,978 | #452 | 1.2× |
| Massachusetts | 1,715 | #177 | 1.1× |
| Minnesota | 1,596 | #289 | 1.4× |
Where Cecelia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cecelia is most over-represented in Pennsylvania: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cecelia with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 231,530 babies since 1880, Cecelia is the second most given (26% of them). In 2025 it was given to 569 of their 3,434 babies (17%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cecelia
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cecelia and names like it
- Compare Cecelia and CeciliaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sCecelia peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cecelia since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Cecelia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cecelia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.