Ceciley
From the Latin "caecus" meaning blind or unseeing.
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the first name Ceciley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ceciley today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ceciley births was 1989 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ceciley. 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.
People living today
125
~ 1 in 2,742,035 Americans
Peak year
1989
23 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2000 SSA rank
#15,478
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Ceciley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ceciley from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ceciley 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 Ceciley 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 Ceciley
Ceciley is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin name Caecilia, which is the feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius. The name Caecilius likely originated from the Latin word "caecus," meaning "blind." The name Ceciley dates back to ancient Roman times and was initially used to refer to someone who was born blind or had impaired vision.
In early Christian tradition, the name Ceciley is associated with Saint Cecilia, a Roman martyr from the 3rd century AD. According to legend, Saint Cecilia was a young Christian woman who dedicated her life to God and was martyred for her faith during the Roman persecution of Christians. She is revered as the patron saint of music and musicians.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ceciley can be traced back to the Middle Ages in England. One of the earliest notable figures with this name was Ceciley Neville, Duchess of York, who lived from 1415 to 1495. She was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses and the mother of two English kings, Edward IV and Richard III.
Another historical figure named Ceciley was Ceciley Chicheley, who lived from 1468 to 1552. She was an English noblewoman and the wife of Sir John Chicheley, a prominent courtier during the reign of Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, Ceciley Burghley, born in 1556, was an English aristocrat and the wife of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley, who served as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Privy Seal under Queen Elizabeth I.
During the 17th century, Ceciley Crofts, born in 1625, was a renowned English courtier and the mistress of King James II of England. She played a significant role in the political and social life of the English court during the Restoration period.
Another notable figure with the name Ceciley was Ceciley Brownrigg, born in 1720, an English woman infamous for the cruel treatment and eventual murder of her servant, Mary Clifford, in 1767. Her case drew significant public attention and outrage, leading to reforms in the treatment of domestic servants.
People
Ceciley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ceciley 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
Ceciley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ceciley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 125 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ceciley 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 2,742,035 US residents.
Is Ceciley a common name?
We classify Ceciley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ceciley most popular?
The single biggest year for Ceciley was 1989, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ceciley is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ceciley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ceciley 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.
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.