Cecilia
Meaning of Cecilia
Cecilia is the feminine form of Caecilius, an ancient Roman family name traditionally linked to caecus, the Latin word for blind. In English it is pronounced suh-SEEL-yuh, and in Italian che-CHEE-lyah.
The name's best-known bearer is Saint Cecilia, an early Christian martyr of Rome honored as the patron saint of music. Cecilia is also the title of a 1782 novel by Fanny Burney and a 1970 hit song by Simon & Garfunkel. Namesakes include the astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who showed that stars are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, and the portrait painter Cecilia Beaux.
In the U.S., Cecilia fell to 406th in 1969 before slowly recovering. Since 2010, when it ranked 277th, it has climbed quickly, reaching its highest rank yet in 2025: No. 108, with 2,506 babies.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as che-CHEE-lyah (/tʃeˈtʃiːlja/)
Spanish
- Pronunced as seh-THEE-lyah (/seˈθilja/)
British English
- Pronunced as suh-SEEL-yuh (/səˈsiːljə/)
American English
- Pronunced as suh-SEEL-yuh (/səˈsiljə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Cecilia
| Eliza Cecilia Beaux was an American portraitist and the first woman to teach at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, renowned for painting figures like Edith Roosevelt, Admiral David Beatty, and Georges Clemenceau. |
| Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a British-born American astronomer, pioneered research on the composition of the universe and variable stars, shaping modern astrophysics. |
| Cecilia Fire Thunder, an Oglala Sioux nurse and community health planner, became the first woman president of the tribe in 2004 but was impeached in 2006 over her plan to build a Planned Parenthood clinic without council consent after South Dakota banned most abortions. |
| Cecilia Chiang - Cecilia Sun Yun Chiang was a Chinese American chef and restaurateur who founded and ran The Mandarin in San Francisco. |
| Cecilia Pantoja - Cecilia, also known as Cecilia la Incomparable, was a Chilean singer songwriter in the nueva ola movement. |
| Cecilia Elena Rouse is an American economist who was the first Black chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and now leads the Brookings Institution, after serving as dean of Princeton's public and international affairs school. |
| Cecilia is a Norwegian classical crossover singer known for Amazing Grace who has released seven albums including two on Universal Music and performed worldwide, selling several hundred thousand albums with little mainstream publicity. |
| Cecilia Roth is an Argentine actress, a two time Goya Award winner and European Film Award winner, known as an Almodovar regular and the 1990s muse of Fito Paez. |
| Cecilia Mary Ady was an English writer and Oxford scholar of the Italian Renaissance whose dismissal by a former friend drew public attention and spurred colleagues to support her reinstatement. |
| Cecilia Pérez - Cecilia Perez Jara is a Chilean politician who served as a minister in both Sebastian Pinera administrations. |
| Saint Cecilia of Rome, a widely venerated Christian martyr, is the patron saint of music and musicians, celebrated with concerts on November 22. |
