Celestia
Of Latin origin, relating to or derived from the heavens or sky.
Name Census estimates that about 712 living Americans carry the first name Celestia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celestia today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celestia births was 2024 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celestia. 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 Celestia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
712
~ 1 in 481,397 Americans
Peak year
2024
38 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,891
Tracked since 1880
Census
Celestia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 619 people with the first name Celestia, which placed it at #17,674 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,674
National first-name rank
People counted
619
619 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celestia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celestia is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (12.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Celestia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Celestia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 376
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 106
- Black or African American12.0% · 74
- Two or more races5.0% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Celestia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celestia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 199 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Celestia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Celestia 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 Celestia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celestias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Celestia, while Ohio, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Celestia
The name Celestia has its origins in Latin and is derived from the word "caelestis," meaning "heavenly" or "celestial." It was likely inspired by the Latin word "caelum," which means "sky" or "heaven." This name emerged in the early Christian era, as it reflects the celestial and divine nature associated with the heavens and the spiritual realm.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Celestia can be found in the hagiographies (biographies of saints) from the 5th and 6th centuries. It was a name bestowed upon several early Christian martyrs and saints, reflecting their devotion to heavenly ideals and their association with the divine realm.
In the 12th century, the name Celestia gained further prominence with the rise of the Celestine Order, a Catholic religious order founded by Pope Celestine V. The order's name was derived from the Latin word "caelestis," and it is believed that several nuns and members of the order bore the name Celestia during this period.
Throughout history, there have been notable individuals who carried the name Celestia. One of the earliest recorded figures was Celestia of Rome, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD and was revered for her unwavering faith and sacrifice.
Another notable figure was Celestia of Carthage, a 5th-century Christian philosopher and theologian who contributed significantly to the intellectual discourse of her time. Her writings and teachings focused on the spiritual and celestial aspects of existence.
In the 16th century, Celestia Meraviglia (1515-1590) was an Italian Renaissance painter and engraver known for her intricate and celestially inspired works of art. Her compositions often depicted heavenly scenes and celestial bodies, reflecting her fascination with the divine realm.
During the 18th century, Celestia Louisa Delvaux (1745-1823) was a French composer and musician who gained acclaim for her celestial-themed compositions and operas. Her works were known for their ethereal and heavenly qualities, reflecting the name's celestial connotations.
More recently, Celestia Rosenberg (1916-2004) was a renowned American astronomer and astrophysicist who made significant contributions to the study of stellar evolution and the structure of the Milky Way galaxy. Her life's work was dedicated to exploring the celestial realms, aptly reflecting the meaning of her name.
People
Celestia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celestia 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
Celestia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celestia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 712 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celestia 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 481,397 US residents.
Is Celestia a common name?
We classify Celestia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,372 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celestia most popular?
The single biggest year for Celestia was 2024, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celestia is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Celestia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 619 people with the name Celestia, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,674 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Celestia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Celestia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celestia appears almost entirely female. Of the 619 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Celestia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celestia is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Black (12.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Celestia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Celestia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (376 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Celestia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celestia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celestia 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 Celestia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celestia 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 Celestia 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.
How many people share the name Celestia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.