Cecilia - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. ce-ci-lia, cec-il-ia ] The girl name Cecilia is pronounced SahSIYLYah ^KEY. Cecilia is of Latin origin. It is used mainly in English, Finnish, German, Italian, Scandinavian, and Spanish. An old form of the name is Caecilia (Latin). The first name is derived from the Roman family name Caecilius; the surname could be of Etruscan origin, or else it could be from the Latin caecus ('blind'), possibly first used in tribute to an important ancestor who was blind. Saint Cecilia (176-180), the patron saint of music, was a possibly mythical figure whose tales of martyrdom for rejecting Roman gods and subsequent large cult following helped promote the popularity of the name among medieval Christians. The name was introduced by the Normans into England, often in the form Cecily, as borne by one of the daughters of William the Conqueror. The Latinate form Cecilia was first used by English speakers in the 18th century. In literature, it has appeared as the name of the titular heroine Cecilia Beverley in Frances Burney's novel Cecilia (1782), and as the name of Cecily Cardew in Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Cecilia is the feminine equivalent of the English Cecil.

Cecilia is a widely used name; it has 87 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of Cecilia include Cacelia, Ceceli, Cecely, Cecelyn, Cecette, Cecila, Cecile (also used in French), Cecilea, Cecille, Cecily (also used in French), Ceclia, Cecyl, Cecyle, Ceilagh, Ceileh, Ceileigh, Ceilena, Ceilia, Cele, Cescelie, Cescily, Cesilie, Cicelie, Cicely, Cicilie, Cicily, Cissi, Selia, Shayla, Sheila (also used in Irish), Shelia, Sisley, and Sissi (also used in German). Other English forms include the short forms Cecil and Celia (also used in Italian, Scandinavian, and Spanish), the pet forms Cee, Ceil, Ceila, Celie, Cici, Cis, Cissie, Cissy, Sessy, Sis, Sissie, and Sissy, and the spelling variants Ceceilia, Cecelia, Cecillia, and Secelia.

Forms of the name used in foreign languages include the German Cacilia, the German Caecilia, the German Cäcilia, the German Cäcilie, the Dutch Ceciel, the Czech, German, and Scandinavian Cecilie, the Slavic Cecilija, the Spanish Cecilla, the Portuguese and Slavic Cecília, the Czech Cecílie, the Polish Cecylia, the Polish and Russian Cesia, the French Cécile, the Spanish Chela, the Spanish Chila, the Czech Cile, the Hungarian Cili, the Czech and Slavic Cilka, the German Cilli, the German Cilly, the Hawaiian Kekilia, the Hawaiian Kikilia, the Finnish, Frisian, German, and Scandinavian Silja, the Scandinavian Silje, the Frisian and German Silka, the Scandinavian Sille, the Yiddish Sisel, the Scottish Sìle, the Scottish Sìleas, the Irish Síle, the Frisian and German Sylke, and the Russian Tsetsiliya. The pet forms Cilla (Dutch and Scandinavian), Cille (Scandinavian), Silke (Frisian and German), and Zilla (German) are other foreign variants.

Cecilia is popular as a baby girl name. At the peak of its usage in 1904, 0.086% of baby girls were named Cecilia. It was #190 in rank then. The baby name has experienced a decline in frequency since then, and is in recent times of modest use. In 2008, it ranked at #270 with a usage of 0.060%, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all girl names in its family. Cecilia was used 31% more than the 2nd ranked name, the English Shayla, in 2008.

Baby names that sound like Cecilia include the English Cecelia, the Portuguese and Slavic Cecília, the English Secelia, the English Ceceli, the English Cecely, the English Cecila, the Czech, German, and Scandinavian Cecilie, the Spanish Cecilla, the English Cecillia, the English and French Cecily, the Czech Cecílie, the English Ceclia, the English Ceilia, the English Cesilie, the English Cicelie, the English Cicely, the English Cicilie, the Arabic and Turkish Saliha, the English Selia, and the Iranian Soheila.

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