She’s an alternative to the mega-popular Olivia, a classic boosted just the tiniest bit by a sitcom staple.
Thanks to Dan for suggesting Cecilia as our Baby Name of the Day.
Cecilia’s meaning isn’t especially appealing. She comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, derived from the Latin word caecus – blind. The first Caeculus was the son of Vulcan in Roman myth, abandoned by his mother as a child, but eventually growing up to be a king. The family claimed descent from Caeculus, and female members of the family answered to Caecilia.
Then along came a saint, a faultless woman of the second or third century, born blind. A devout Christian, she went to her death for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. It took many attempts to execute Cecilia – or so goes the legend. Despite many re-tellings of her tale, like some other early saints, there is little historical evidence to support her existence.
But no matter, because Cecilia has been wildly popular over the years, enough that other meanings have attached to her name, including:
- She of the shining light, a meaning that might be a play on blindness, or might relate to an archaic French word with a similar meaning. While I can’t confirm the word’s use, light is a common image used with reference to many saints. Saint Therese of Lisieux used the imagery in a poem she wrote to Saint Cecilia.
- In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Second Nun’s Tale lists a long string of possible alternate meanings for Cecilia, including Lily of Heaven. Scholars speculate that Chaucer might have had access to more extensive accounts of Cecilia’s story.
Speaking of her story, it is said that she sang to heaven even as she was beheaded – and so Cecilia is the patron saint of music.
Handel composed the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, one of many works dedicated to her. Rome is home to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – one of the oldest musical institutions, founded in 1585.
Then there’s Simon & Garfunkel’s enduring single from their 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. While the lyrics lean PG-13, it is a bouncy, upbeat song.
Other uses abound:
- Popular eighteenth century novelist Frances Burney penned a novel called Cecilia, or Memoirs on an Heiress.
- The name is big name in the royal family of Sweden. Cecilia was believed to be name of a twelfth century queen, the wife of King Canute I and mother of King Eric X. Other princesses have worn the name since.
- A second royal connection is Cecilia of Normandy, said to be the firstborn daughter of William the Conqueror.
The Normans brought Cecilia to England, and in the medieval era she became Cecily. Variants abound: Sisley, Sela, Cecilie, Cecile, even the Irish Sheila. The Shakespearean Celia has different roots, but sounds close enough that she’s sometimes grouped with the Cecilia names, too.
In more recent years, Cecilia has been a character in novels-turned-movies The Virgin Suicides and Atonement, plus the name given to Pam and Jim’s daughter on The Office.
Overall, Cecilia is steady. She ranked #277 in 2010, #283 in 2000, #326 in 1990, #283 in 1960, #262 in 1930, and #199 in 1900. She’s been more and less popular over the decades, but she’s always been present. This makes her a great choice for parents seeking an alternative to Amelia or Sophia. Cecilia is every bit as storied, but not nearly as common.
dragonflynv says
March 19, 2014 at 11:28 AMHow come I can’t see the whole article?!
Mari says
April 8, 2016 at 1:27 PMUm yeah, article where are you??? Too many ads?
appellationmountain says
April 10, 2016 at 7:17 AMHi Mari – Cecilia is back! A few years back, when I switched hosts, a bunch of the articles disappeared. They’re still in the back end of the site, but they don’t display properly unless I go in and manually fix a few things. There’s no way to know which posts aren’t displayed, until I stumble on one – or someone else does. Every time I think I’ve got them all, I find a few more. Its feel like there oughta be a prize for finding one. 🙂 For now, here’s the post on Cecilia. Best, Abby
Cecilia Nyarkoh Anderson says
January 26, 2014 at 7:23 PMi used to feel bad about the meaning of my Cecilia ,thinking it would have an impact on my life.i am now proud of my name now and i cherish it alot.
Panya says
February 1, 2012 at 5:26 AMWhile I like the song, I’ve never liked the name. I did know a girl in school with the name, called C.C. — I’m pretty sure she was named for the song.
ashley says
January 31, 2012 at 1:54 PMI love Cecilia it is my number one currently. My husband was all of it, but interestingly enough since I have mentioned it to his family it seems to have fallen out of favor with him. He is mostly Irish while, I am Italian. I like that the name sounds somewhat Italian although I don’t believe it is entirely (or at all). It has such a cute nn I also love how it has been pretty consistently used, but not too popular. It is beautiful in my opinion. The Virgin Suicides, though so tragic is where the name first entered my thoughts…
Mariah says
July 2, 2013 at 11:25 AMActually, I’m Irish through and through as far as I know. We’ve been living around the one town for generations. My grand aunt, great grandmother and two great great grandparents are all called Cecelia or Celia. They used a different name on different records. Although, the name wouldn’t be common now as the only person I know with the name who isn’t a relative with this name is the Irish author Cecelia Ahern.
Lauren says
January 18, 2012 at 12:10 PMCecelia is on my short list because of a beloved neighbor of mine who sadly died a few years ago after succumbing to Alzheimer’s. I went home after elementary school every day and hung out with “Grandma Luce,” telling stories and listening to her talk about immigrating from Poland and growing up during the Depression. On weekends my grandad and I would pick up and mow her lawn. She also gave me Pez dispensers for every holiday. Her first name was Cecelia, but she went by Celia some of the time.
I’ve considered Cecelia or Lucy as an appropriate homage. She was a wonderful and inspiring woman.
Lauren says
January 18, 2012 at 12:13 PMAlso, I like the S&G song, but I prefer the “CecElia” spelling. The other way reminds me of cillia, the little “arms” bacteria and cells use to propel themselves around. Yay biology?
Maevy says
January 17, 2012 at 10:32 PMI thought Sela was a biblical/ Hebrew name, not a variant of Cecilia? Actually I would love it if you did a NOTD on Sela/ Selah if you haven’t already!
appellationmountain says
January 18, 2012 at 2:53 AMIt is! Selah is a word in the Old Testament – I believe it means something along the lines of pause. (Like pause to reflect during prayer.) But spelling variants were fast and furious in the Middle Ages, so Sela surfaces, too, almost certainly as a respelling/short form of Cecilia.
Eponymia says
January 17, 2012 at 9:03 PMI really like Cecilia — such a pretty, underused name. Somehow, though, spelling it Cecelia totally changes my opinion. No idea why a one-letter change can make such a difference!
Hermia says
January 17, 2012 at 5:16 PMI absolutely love Cecilia and Cecily, but I find the reference to the Virgin Suicides character (a discreet little girl who killed herself in a horrid way) even more appalling than the meaning, which does not disturb me at all.
appellationmountain says
January 17, 2012 at 10:09 PMThat reference does bother me – and yet, I feel like it is one of those quietly influential novels. (I’ve never seen the movie, but I suppose it is equally true for the film.) It is so well known, and while you’d never directly name a child after the story, the names reverberate. I think it is like the rise of Natalee and Caylee after they were connected with horrific events. While the wrong figure can make a name feel unusable, for the most part merely hearing a name in use tends to boost its frequency – strange, but often true.
kristen says
January 2, 2013 at 10:59 PMConfession: My almost 4 month old daughter is named Cecilia… and the book/movie were really where I first fell in love with the name. Though I didn’t specifically name my daughter after the character….I was certainly reacquainted with the name through the book. Hoping it doesnt get too popular in the coming years. I have already heard of 3 others since I’ve had my daughter!
appellationmountain says
January 3, 2013 at 6:04 AMIt is a lovely name! Congrats on your new daughter. 🙂
I know two born in this past year and one headed for kindergarten … but it is really too soon to say what that means for popularity. Neither of my children has ever had an Ava, Olivia, Emma, Emily, Jacob, or Michael in their class, and those are Top Ten names …
And I think your experience is more common that most of us are willing to admit. We hear a name in a book/movie/tv show, and it sticks with us. We’re not naming our kids after the characters, exactly, but we’re aware of the name because of the characters.
Hannah says
January 17, 2012 at 1:37 PMI love Cecilia! Either that or Cecily will be my first choice if I ever have a girl. : ) Simon and Garfunkel is my favorite band, and the name itself has such a beautiful sound…Plus my great grandfather’s name was Cecil, so I’ve got a family connection as well!
dreadedjaws says
January 17, 2012 at 1:35 PMI absolutely love Simon and Garfunkel and “Cecilia” is one of my favorites – actually 80% of their catalog are favorites – but honestly, on the basis of the song alone, I’d use the name. Being as I’m not religious, the name is pretty much limited to connections to the song and “The Office.” I don’t know any Cecilias, but I do know a Cilia – spelled with the ‘i’ in there – she’s in middle school.
Sebastiane says
January 17, 2012 at 12:42 PMI like Cecilia. I love the story of St. Cecilia, but the meaning really does bug me.
Mariah says
July 2, 2013 at 11:18 AMIt doesn’t actually mean ‘blind’ but rather ‘the way for the blind.’ If you still hate that meaning ‘Celia’ means ‘heavenly’ so you could use that name.
Jerilyn says
January 17, 2012 at 10:53 AMMy great-great grandmother was Cecilia, which I always thought was pretty but the meaning totally turned me off. However, it doesn’t matter as we ended up with all boys!
Lady Gwyn says
January 17, 2012 at 10:19 AMI adore Cecilia, as well as Cecile, Cecily and Celia. My step-grandma is called Celie (don’t know what her real name is), and I have always thought of using one of the above as a tribute to her.
namelover, I always thought that the traditional spelling of Cecilia comes from it being a feminization of Cecil, which makes sense to me.
kat says
January 18, 2012 at 2:22 AMSame here, I always thought that Cecilia and Cecil shared the same roots. Granted, the only thing I know about Cecil’s meaning is that it’s Welsh for ‘6th child’ or something like that. Cecil is yet another family name. My great-great uncle was the first Cecil, and then my great uncle (who WAS the 6th child out of 11!) and his son. I’ve always loved the name and wouldn’t mind having a little Cecil of my own…which brings me back to my point…since I thought that Cecilia was the female form of Cecil, I’ve thought about Cecilia….but now I’m unsure.
appellationmountain says
January 18, 2012 at 2:51 AMCecil has a funny story. He and Cecilia do come from the same roots – Caecilius. But the Cecil family derives their name from Sextus – sixth – via a Welsh variant. So the names are the same, but Cecil has another layer to consider.
jvcounselor says
January 17, 2012 at 10:00 AMI know a little Cecilia who goes by Cece. She is precious. I think this name is definitely a good alternative to the too common but lovely Amelia and Olivia. It’s a bit frilly but perfect for parents looking for a feminine name with a great nickname.
namelover says
January 17, 2012 at 9:13 AMDumb question. Something I’ve never been able to understand is the spelling. Why is the Celia part of Cecilia spelled Cilia?
Mariah says
July 2, 2013 at 11:15 AMSome people (such as my family) spell Cecilia as Cecelia.
Jennifer says
July 10, 2013 at 11:47 PMMy first daughter’s name is Cecelia and her toddler nickname is Cece. When she is grown she may choose Celia. There are two common ways to spell the name: Cecilia and Cecelia. They are pronounced a little different too. My grandmother was Cecelia, with an “e”. I think the Ceciilia, with an “i”, spelling and pronunciation of the name is more common in South America, while my heritage is more German. Friends of mine from S. America say the common nickname for the Cecilia version of the name there is Cisa (Cee-Sa). Anyway, I obviously love the name since I named my first after it. (Cece’s younger sister is named Penelope, and her nickname is “Poppy”).
Christina Fonseca says
January 17, 2012 at 8:34 AMI’ve always loved Cecilia. I like her sound and the fact that she’s the patron saint of music. In Mexico it is traditional for musicians to play in churches throughout the day on November 22nd, her feast day.
Charlotte Vera says
January 17, 2012 at 3:24 AMMmmmm, Cecelia. She’s so pretty and she has a history. I wouldn’t use here — she ends in “a” — but I’d cheer on other parents who do. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever met a Cecelia. Celia yes, Cecelia no.
Julie says
January 17, 2012 at 3:10 AMThis is another instance where I really regret my sibilant surname. I suppose it’s a case of loving what you can’t have… like wishing for straight hair when you have a head-full of ringlets.
Anyways Cecelia is lovely and I’d love to meet a few more little ones.
Catherine says
January 17, 2012 at 2:10 AMI love Cecilia and would use it in a heartbeat…if it wasn’t the name of my ex-boyfriend’s wife (who’s a real b*tch *sigh*)