girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Cecelia

Meaning A female given name from Latin, variant of Cecilia Gender Girl Rank 2025 #529 Trend ↑ Rising 12%

A female given name from Latin, variant of Cecilia.

Rank 2025
#529
among girls · ↑42 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
569
named Cecelia · +7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,825
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
935 babies
All-time total
60,530
#525 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Cecelia popularity over time

60,530 babies have been named Cecelia since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 852 – 852 85 – #169
1890s 1,784 – 1,784 178 +109% #187
1900s 2,793 – 2,793 279 +57% #174
1910s 6,905 – 6,905 691 +147% #175
1920s 7,169 – 7,169 717 +4% #217
1930s 4,592 6 4,598 460 -36% #268
1940s 7,363 5 7,368 737 +60% #230
1950s 6,898 – 6,898 690 -6% #277
1960s 3,857 – 3,857 386 -44% #406
1970s 1,837 – 1,837 184 -52% #575
1980s 1,825 – 1,825 183 -1% #820
1990s 2,446 – 2,446 245 +34% #743
2000s 3,654 – 3,654 365 +49% #660
2010s 5,170 – 5,170 517 +41% #529
2020s (to 2025) 3,374 – 3,374 562 +9% #497

Where Cecelia is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 579 0.36 outside top 500
2027 588 0.37 outside top 500
2028 595 0.37 #499
2029 602 0.37 #493
2030 607 0.38 #489

Where Cecelia is most popular

Girls named Cecelia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.353 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Cecelia born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 28 1.52 +330%
North Dakota 18 1.37 +288%
Minnesota 139 1.29 +265%
Massachusetts 139 1.15 +226%
Nebraska 35 0.974 +176%
Iowa 56 0.958 +172%
Wisconsin 95 0.922 +161%
Pennsylvania 215 0.909 +158%
Connecticut 51 0.877 +148%
Michigan 152 0.834 +136%
Ohio 197 0.830 +135%
Rhode Island 10 0.799 +126%
Maine 11 0.711 +102%
Missouri 85 0.705 +100%
Oregon 39 0.599 +70%
Alaska 5 0.581 +65%
Indiana 80 0.570 +61%
Colorado 63 0.564 +60%
Louisiana 47 0.537 +52%
Illinois 115 0.502 +42%
New York 191 0.482 +37%
Virginia 73 0.428 +21%
Washington 60 0.415 +18%
Maryland 44 0.415 +18%
New Jersey 74 0.410 +16%
Kansas 23 0.399 +13%
Montana 5 0.369 +5%
South Dakota 5 0.350 ≈ national
Arizona 46 0.328 -7%
North Carolina 68 0.299 -15%
Tennessee 46 0.290 -18%
Kentucky 24 0.281 -20%
South Carolina 22 0.245 -31%
Florida 104 0.243 -31%
Georgia 52 0.229 -35%
Alabama 18 0.192 -46%
Oklahoma 14 0.190 -46%
Idaho 5 0.149 -58%
Arkansas 6 0.114 -68%
Texas 91 0.113 -68%
California 95 0.113 -68%
Utah 6 0.072 -80%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Mississippi – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Cecelia

Cecelia is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #529 in 2025 with 569 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 60,530 American babies have been named Cecelia. Its peak came in 1918, when 935 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Cecelia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Cecelia?

The median living Cecelia is about 49 years old; half are between 15 and 72. An estimated 33 thousand people named Cecelia are alive in the United States today.

median 49 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Cecelia year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 569 #529 – –
2024 530 #571 – –
2023 617 #497 – –
2022 599 #519 – –
2021 548 #561 – –
2020 511 #573 – –
2019 557 #546 – –
2018 512 #594 – –
2017 585 #529 – –
2016 579 #537 – –
2015 572 #544 – –
2014 535 #571 – –
2013 535 #552 – –
2012 484 #596 – –
2011 434 #656 – –
2010 377 #739 – –
2009 393 #737 – –
2008 387 #761 – –
2007 367 #785 – –
2006 423 #673 – –
2005 420 #660 – –
2004 386 #697 – –
2003 341 #746 – –
2002 328 #740 – –
2001 313 #763 – –
2000 296 #771 – –
1995 248 #800 – –
1990 231 #849 – –
1985 180 #886 – –
1980 161 #928 – –
1975 167 #818 – –
1970 309 #575 – –
1965 330 #526 – –
1960 559 #406 – –
1955 655 #332 – –
1950 768 #277 – –
1945 628 #275 – –
1940 567 #261 – –
1935 409 #301 – –
1930 526 #286 – –
1925 721 #247 – –
1920 890 #217 – –
1915 821 #200 – –
1910 335 #196 – –
1905 293 #175 – –
1900 264 #195 – –
1895 163 #213 – –
1890 130 #211 – –
1885 84 #215 – –
1880 47 #226 – –

Famous people named Cecelia

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Cecelia Ahern Cecelia Ahern Irish novelist (born 1981) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Cecelia, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Cecelia?

The median living Cecelia is about 49 years old. Half of all living Cecelias are between 15 and 72 years old.

How many people named Cecelia are alive today?

An estimated 33 thousand people named Cecelia are alive in the United States, based on 60,530 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Cecelia mean?

A female given name from Latin, variant of Cecilia.

How popular is the name Cecelia in 2025?

Cecelia ranked #529 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 569 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Cecelia?

60,530 babies have been named Cecelia in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Cecelia most popular?

Cecelia peaked in 1918, when 935 newborns received the name.

Is Cecelia a boy or girl name?

Cecelia is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Cecelia rising or falling?

Cecelia is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Cecelia become more popular?

Cecelia is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 607 girls named Cecelia in 2030, which would rank around #489. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Cecelia?

Well-known people named Cecelia include Cecelia Ahern (writer).

Names like Cecelia

Names that sound and feel close to Cecelia: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Cecelia with similar names → More names starting with C →