Caelia
Of Latin origin, meaning "from the heavens" or "heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 68 living Americans carry the first name Caelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caelia today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caelia births was 2021 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caelia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caelia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Caelia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
68
~ 1 in 5,040,505 Americans
Peak year
2021
12 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,262
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Caelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caelia from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caelia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caelia
The given name Caelia originated from the ancient Roman civilization. It is derived from the Latin word "caelum," meaning "heaven" or "sky." This name likely originated during the Roman Republic or early Roman Empire, when Latin was the dominant language in the region.
Caelia was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Rome, but it was used by some notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Caelia Concordia, a Roman woman mentioned in inscriptions from the 1st century AD. She was likely a member of the upper class or a prominent family.
Another early reference to the name Caelia can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus. In his work "Annals," he mentions a woman named Caelia Quintina, who was implicated in a conspiracy against the Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD.
During the Middle Ages, the name Caelia fell out of widespread use, but it did resurface occasionally. One notable example is Caelia Rosetana, a 12th-century Italian woman who was a poet and scholar. She is known for her Latin poetry and her involvement in the literary circles of her time.
In the Renaissance period, the name Caelia experienced a small revival. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Caelia Renata, an Italian painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century. She was known for her portraits and religious works, and her art is still celebrated today.
Another notable figure from this period was Caelia Pico, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was a member of the influential Pico della Mirandola family and played a significant role in supporting artists and intellectuals in the 16th century.
While the name Caelia is not as common today as it once was, it has left an enduring mark on history, particularly in the realms of art, literature, and scholarship.
People
Caelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caelia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caelia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,040,505 US residents.
Is Caelia a common name?
We classify Caelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 69 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Caelia was 2021, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caelia is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caelia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Caelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caelia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caelia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Caelia?
Find out how many people have the name Caelia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.