Celia
Celia was given to 351 girls in 2025, #774 among girls’ names; 56,716 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 29,800 Americans named Celia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (53% of everyone recorded); the median is 42 years old and half are between 22 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Celia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Celia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Celia is “a female given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “heaven” (caelum).
Borrowed from Latin Caelia, feminine of Roman family name Caelius, probably from caelum (“heaven”). Introduced into English by William Shakespeare in As You Like It.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Celia?
#774 among girls’ names, 2025
Celia rose from #852 in 2015 to #774 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.18 to 0.22 per 1,000.
853 babies in 1915, the peak
Celia peaked in 1915, when 853 girls were given it, #195 among girls’ names. The 351 births of 2025 are 41% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 351 | #774 | 0.22 |
| 2024 | 383 | #735 | 0.24 |
| 2023 | 332 | #828 | 0.21 |
| 2022 | 323 | #861 | 0.20 |
| 2021 | 358 | #791 | 0.22 |
| 2020 | 345 | #790 | 0.21 |
| 2019 | 308 | #869 | 0.18 |
| 2018 | 287 | #932 | 0.17 |
| 2017 | 324 | #838 | 0.19 |
| 2016 | 344 | #835 | 0.19 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 328 | #852 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 356 | #787 | 0.20 |
| 2013 | 355 | #768 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 376 | #740 | 0.21 |
| 2011 | 372 | #741 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 375 | #744 | 0.21 |
| 2009 | 377 | #753 | 0.21 |
| 2008 | 390 | #756 | 0.21 |
| 2007 | 370 | #779 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 406 | #699 | 0.21 |
| 2005 | 410 | #678 | 0.22 |
| 2004 | 406 | #677 | 0.22 |
| 2003 | 406 | #653 | 0.22 |
| 2002 | 388 | #652 | 0.22 |
| 2001 | 424 | #594 | 0.24 |
| 2000 | 410 | #619 | 0.23 |
| 1999 | 409 | #597 | 0.23 |
| 1998 | 384 | #619 | 0.22 |
| 1997 | 361 | #619 | 0.21 |
| 1996 | 336 | #662 | 0.19 |
| 1995 | 318 | #669 | 0.18 |
| 1994 | 303 | #692 | 0.17 |
| 1993 | 343 | #651 | 0.19 |
| 1992 | 343 | #650 | 0.19 |
| 1991 | 352 | #635 | 0.19 |
| 1990 | 391 | #588 | 0.21 |
| 1989 | 310 | #658 | 0.17 |
| 1988 | 342 | #590 | 0.19 |
| 1987 | 330 | #590 | 0.19 |
| 1986 | 358 | #561 | 0.21 |
| 1985 | 406 | #500 | 0.24 |
| 1984 | 502 | #424 | 0.30 |
| 1983 | 399 | #492 | 0.24 |
| 1982 | 258 | #681 | 0.15 |
| 1981 | 295 | #614 | 0.18 |
| 1980 | 277 | #656 | 0.17 |
| 1979 | 247 | #690 | 0.15 |
| 1978 | 218 | #724 | 0.14 |
| 1977 | 245 | #655 | 0.16 |
| 1976 | 209 | #705 | 0.14 |
| 1975 | 206 | #718 | 0.14 |
| 1974 | 233 | #654 | 0.16 |
| 1973 | 233 | #645 | 0.16 |
| 1972 | 216 | #684 | 0.14 |
| 1971 | 278 | #612 | 0.17 |
| 1970 | 357 | #531 | 0.20 |
| 1969 | 237 | #644 | 0.14 |
| 1968 | 265 | #589 | 0.16 |
| 1967 | 270 | #581 | 0.16 |
| 1966 | 302 | #541 | 0.18 |
| 1965 | 356 | #503 | 0.20 |
| 1964 | 377 | #502 | 0.20 |
| 1963 | 447 | #461 | 0.23 |
| 1962 | 555 | #415 | 0.28 |
| 1961 | 532 | #426 | 0.26 |
| 1960 | 540 | #416 | 0.27 |
| 1959 | 536 | #407 | 0.26 |
| 1958 | 530 | #401 | 0.26 |
| 1957 | 519 | #405 | 0.25 |
| 1956 | 560 | #372 | 0.28 |
| 1955 | 604 | #350 | 0.31 |
| 1954 | 548 | #373 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 579 | #348 | 0.31 |
| 1952 | 639 | #320 | 0.34 |
| 1951 | 578 | #329 | 0.32 |
| 1950 | 507 | #350 | 0.30 |
| 1949 | 498 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1948 | 489 | #351 | 0.29 |
| 1947 | 456 | #375 | 0.26 |
| 1946 | 402 | #380 | 0.26 |
| 1945 | 377 | #357 | 0.29 |
| 1944 | 428 | #331 | 0.32 |
| 1943 | 405 | #357 | 0.29 |
| 1942 | 407 | #348 | 0.30 |
| 1941 | 388 | #336 | 0.32 |
| 1940 | 381 | #327 | 0.33 |
| 1939 | 373 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1938 | 413 | #307 | 0.37 |
| 1937 | 411 | #305 | 0.39 |
| 1936 | 419 | #298 | 0.40 |
| 1935 | 423 | #295 | 0.40 |
| 1934 | 445 | #290 | 0.43 |
| 1933 | 430 | #292 | 0.43 |
| 1932 | 386 | #323 | 0.36 |
| 1931 | 490 | #282 | 0.46 |
| 1930 | 559 | #265 | 0.50 |
| 1929 | 510 | #288 | 0.46 |
| 1928 | 549 | #279 | 0.48 |
| 1927 | 607 | #267 | 0.51 |
| 1926 | 606 | #272 | 0.51 |
| 1925 | 661 | #258 | 0.54 |
| 1924 | 662 | #256 | 0.53 |
| 1923 | 662 | #250 | 0.55 |
| 1922 | 679 | #253 | 0.57 |
| 1921 | 690 | #254 | 0.56 |
| 1920 | 726 | #242 | 0.61 |
| 1919 | 711 | #237 | 0.63 |
| 1918 | 791 | #224 | 0.68 |
| 1917 | 839 | #209 | 0.78 |
| 1916 | 810 | #214 | 0.78 |
| 1915 | 853 | #195 | 0.87 |
| 1914 | 692 | #193 | 0.91 |
| 1913 | 532 | #200 | 0.85 |
| 1912 | 519 | #188 | 0.93 |
| 1911 | 410 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 402 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1909 | 324 | #185 | 0.93 |
| 1908 | 351 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 314 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1906 | 289 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1905 | 270 | #185 | 0.93 |
| 1904 | 293 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 1903 | 278 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 285 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1901 | 251 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1900 | 316 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1899 | 231 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 1898 | 265 | #174 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 260 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 1896 | 258 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 1895 | 273 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1894 | 254 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1893 | 219 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1892 | 222 | #167 | 1.0 |
| 1891 | 187 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1890 | 204 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1889 | 167 | #176 | 0.94 |
| 1888 | 196 | #157 | 1.1 |
| 1887 | 154 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1886 | 147 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1885 | 153 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1884 | 122 | #159 | 0.95 |
| 1883 | 101 | #166 | 0.90 |
| 1882 | 126 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 1881 | 107 | #146 | 1.2 |
| 1880 | 90 | #152 | 1.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Celia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Celia has been given almost only to girls: 74 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Celia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Celia, and how old are they?
29,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 53% of the 56,716 Americans ever recorded as Celia. The median Celia alive today is 42 years old; half are between 22 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 49,709 people named Celia (49,620 women and girls, 89 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 30,397 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,190 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,680 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,850 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,440 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,370 |
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 Celia born?
The states with the most babies named Celia are Texas, California and New York, with 42% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 7,079 | #956 | 2.0× |
| California | 6,386 | #757 | 1.6× |
| New York | 5,227 | #660 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 2,119 | #945 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,054 | #601 | 0.7× |
| Massachusetts | 1,678 | #446 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 1,543 | #462 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 1,378 | #599 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 1,355 | #1,079 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 1,147 | #1,184 | 0.8× |
Where Celia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Celia is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Celia 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 238,366 babies since 1880, Celia is the third most given (24% of them). In 2025 it was given to 351 of their 3,448 babies (10%), again the third 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 Celia
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 Celia and names like it
- Compare Celia and CeciliaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sCelia peaked in 1915.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Celia since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Celia: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1915The year the most babies were named Celia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Celia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.