Cecil
Cecil was given to 119 boys in 2025, #1,486 among boys’ names; 114,676 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 34,100 Americans named Cecil and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (30% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 50 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cecil by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cecil mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cecil is “a male given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “blind” (caecus).
Also “a female given name from Latin.”
From Latin Caecilius, a Roman family name derived from caecus (“blind”). The surname has absorbed the Old Welsh Seisyllt, from Latin Sextilius, from Sextus.
/ˈsiːsəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cecil?
#1,486 among boys’ names, 2025
Cecil fell from #1,468 in 2015 to #1,486 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 59.5 to 69.7 per million.
2,672 babies in 1920, the peak
Cecil peaked in 1920, when 2,672 babies were given it (2,459 boys, #77 among boys’ names). The 119 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 119 | #1,486 | 0.07 |
| 2024 | 122 | #1,482 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 117 | #1,509 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 114 | #1,561 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 114 | #1,539 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 97 | #1,647 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 98 | #1,653 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 114 | #1,508 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 103 | #1,576 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 103 | #1,588 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 114 | #1,468 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 99 | #1,590 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 114 | #1,448 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 97 | #1,601 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 91 | #1,659 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 78 | #1,852 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 88 | #1,742 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 122 | #1,390 | 0.06 |
| 2007 | 111 | #1,449 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 107 | #1,447 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 108 | #1,381 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 100 | #1,413 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 101 | #1,349 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 106 | #1,279 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 121 | #1,143 | 0.06 |
| 2000 | 130 | #1,081 | 0.07 |
| 1999 | 133 | #1,040 | 0.07 |
| 1998 | 132 | #1,020 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 135 | #970 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 153 | #883 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 147 | #910 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 162 | #837 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 196 | #745 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 194 | #740 | 0.10 |
| 1991 | 217 | #682 | 0.11 |
| 1990 | 231 | #663 | 0.11 |
| 1989 | 237 | #647 | 0.12 |
| 1988 | 270 | #564 | 0.14 |
| 1987 | 250 | #575 | 0.13 |
| 1986 | 276 | #535 | 0.15 |
| 1985 | 266 | #533 | 0.14 |
| 1984 | 299 | #483 | 0.17 |
| 1983 | 309 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1982 | 296 | #494 | 0.16 |
| 1981 | 320 | #464 | 0.18 |
| 1980 | 407 | #401 | 0.23 |
| 1979 | 351 | #426 | 0.20 |
| 1978 | 352 | #417 | 0.21 |
| 1977 | 369 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1976 | 351 | #412 | 0.22 |
| 1975 | 348 | #417 | 0.22 |
| 1974 | 419 | #375 | 0.27 |
| 1973 | 414 | #377 | 0.27 |
| 1972 | 475 | #354 | 0.29 |
| 1971 | 536 | #344 | 0.30 |
| 1970 | 566 | #337 | 0.30 |
| 1969 | 552 | #330 | 0.31 |
| 1968 | 564 | #321 | 0.32 |
| 1967 | 543 | #320 | 0.31 |
| 1966 | 678 | #284 | 0.38 |
| 1965 | 726 | #277 | 0.39 |
| 1964 | 729 | #290 | 0.37 |
| 1963 | 826 | #266 | 0.41 |
| 1962 | 884 | #258 | 0.43 |
| 1961 | 969 | #251 | 0.46 |
| 1960 | 959 | #255 | 0.45 |
| 1959 | 1,008 | #251 | 0.47 |
| 1958 | 1,011 | #247 | 0.48 |
| 1957 | 1,074 | #230 | 0.50 |
| 1956 | 1,139 | #215 | 0.54 |
| 1955 | 1,228 | #205 | 0.60 |
| 1954 | 1,298 | #194 | 0.64 |
| 1953 | 1,254 | #196 | 0.64 |
| 1952 | 1,327 | #185 | 0.68 |
| 1951 | 1,323 | #181 | 0.70 |
| 1950 | 1,341 | #171 | 0.75 |
| 1949 | 1,318 | #173 | 0.74 |
| 1948 | 1,400 | #166 | 0.80 |
| 1947 | 1,443 | #165 | 0.79 |
| 1946 | 1,404 | #159 | 0.86 |
| 1945 | 1,355 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1944 | 1,499 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1943 | 1,697 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1942 | 1,620 | #131 | 1.2 |
| 1941 | 1,512 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1940 | 1,589 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1939 | 1,578 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1938 | 1,558 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1937 | 1,635 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1936 | 1,577 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1935 | 1,726 | #109 | 1.7 |
| 1934 | 1,596 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1933 | 1,506 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1932 | 1,655 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1931 | 1,769 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1930 | 1,882 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 1929 | 1,889 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1928 | 2,005 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1927 | 2,227 | #92 | 2.0 |
| 1926 | 2,305 | #86 | 2.1 |
| 1925 | 2,297 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1924 | 2,299 | #85 | 2.0 |
| 1923 | 2,255 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1922 | 2,336 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1921 | 2,456 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1920 | 2,459 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1919 | 2,300 | #78 | 2.3 |
| 1918 | 2,328 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1917 | 2,101 | #83 | 2.3 |
| 1916 | 2,181 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1915 | 2,181 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1914 | 1,530 | #79 | 2.3 |
| 1913 | 1,276 | #74 | 2.5 |
| 1912 | 1,058 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1911 | 560 | #76 | 2.5 |
| 1910 | 472 | #77 | 2.4 |
| 1909 | 432 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1908 | 397 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1907 | 399 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1906 | 368 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1905 | 347 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1904 | 359 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1903 | 332 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1902 | 354 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1901 | 278 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1900 | 344 | #76 | 2.3 |
| 1899 | 256 | #77 | 2.4 |
| 1898 | 243 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1897 | 216 | #84 | 1.9 |
| 1896 | 200 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1895 | 192 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1894 | 175 | #102 | 1.5 |
| 1893 | 147 | #114 | 1.3 |
| 1892 | 151 | #115 | 1.2 |
| 1891 | 108 | #126 | 1.1 |
| 1890 | 120 | #121 | 1.1 |
| 1889 | 102 | #142 | 0.92 |
| 1888 | 96 | #158 | 0.79 |
| 1887 | 80 | #155 | 0.79 |
| 1886 | 83 | #168 | 0.75 |
| 1885 | 87 | #154 | 0.81 |
| 1884 | 73 | #186 | 0.64 |
| 1883 | 51 | #212 | 0.49 |
| 1882 | 53 | #225 | 0.47 |
| 1881 | 35 | #268 | 0.35 |
| 1880 | 45 | #248 | 0.41 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cecil a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 114,676 Americans recorded as Cecil, 7% are girls and 93% boys. In 2025 it went to 119 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Cecil: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cecil, and how old are they?
34,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 30% of the 114,676 Americans ever recorded as Cecil. The median Cecil alive today is 66 years old; half are between 50 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 37,487 people named Cecil (1,363 women and girls, 36,124 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 41,265 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 5,830 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 14,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,820 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,720 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,750 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,430 |
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 Cecil born?
The states with the most babies named Cecil are Texas, Alabama and Kentucky, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama and Kentucky are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 10,278 | #1,672 | 1.7× |
| Alabama | 5,853 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Kentucky | 5,695 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Georgia | 5,688 | #1,386 | 1.8× |
| North Carolina | 5,625 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Virginia | 4,866 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Oklahoma | 4,852 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Tennessee | 4,808 | #794 | 1.9× |
| Missouri | 3,864 | #730 | 1.3× |
| Arkansas | 3,658 | #568 | 2.2× |
Where Cecil is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cecil is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 2.4 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 boys’ 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 Cecil 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 114,993 babies since 1880, Cecil is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 119 of their 119 babies (100%), again the 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 Cecil
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 Cecil and names like it
- Compare Cecil and KeilBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sCecil peaked in 1920.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cecil since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Cecil: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Cecil.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cecil alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.