Celestin
From Latin origin meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Celestin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Celestin today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celestin births was 1918 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celestin. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Celestin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1918
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1918 SSA rank
#3,792
Tracked since 1918
Census
Celestin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 325 people with the first name Celestin, which placed it at #27,889 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
#27,889
National first-name rank
People counted
325
325 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celestin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celestin is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are White (12.0%) and Hispanic (6.8%). 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 Celestin 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 Celestin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.2% · 241
- White12.0% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 14
- Two or more races2.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Celestin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Celestin 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 Celestin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Celestin
The name Celestin originated from the Latin name Caelestinus, which was derived from the Latin word "caelestis" meaning "heavenly" or "celestial". It is a masculine name that has been in use since ancient Roman times.
The earliest known bearer of the name was Caelestinus I, who was Pope from 422 to 432 AD. He was a Roman who is remembered for his role in the Council of Ephesus, where the doctrine of the dual nature of Christ was affirmed.
Another notable figure named Celestin was Celestin V, who was Pope from July to December 1294. He was born Pietro Angelerio in Molise, Italy around 1215. Celestin V is known for being the only Pope to have resigned from the papacy, citing his desire to return to a life of solitude and prayer.
In the 12th century, there was a French monk named Celestin who founded the Celestine Order, a branch of the Benedictine monastic tradition. The order was known for its strict observance of the Benedictine Rule and its emphasis on contemplative prayer.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Celestin Freinet, a French educator and educational reformer who lived from 1896 to 1966. He is known for his innovative teaching methods, which emphasized student-centered learning and the use of practical experiences in the classroom.
Another notable person named Celestin was Celestin Lainé, a French composer and music theorist who lived from 1801 to 1859. He was a prominent figure in the Parisian music scene and is best known for his contributions to the development of music theory and his works for solo piano.
While the name has its origins in Latin and was initially associated with the Catholic Church, it has since been adopted by people of various cultural backgrounds and religious affiliations. However, its connection to the concept of "heavenly" or "celestial" has remained a consistent theme throughout its history.
People
Celestin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celestin 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
Celestin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celestin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celestin 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 - US residents.
Is Celestin a common name?
We classify Celestin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celestin most popular?
The single biggest year for Celestin was 1918, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celestin is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Celestin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 325 people with the name Celestin, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,889 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 Celestin 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 Celestin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celestin leans strongly male. 265 people counted with this name were male (84.4%), compared with 49 female bearers (15.6%). 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 Celestin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celestin is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are White (12.0%) and Hispanic (6.8%). 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 Celestin most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Celestin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (241 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 Celestin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celestin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celestin in the SSA data are male. 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 Celestin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celestin 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 Celestin 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 common is the name Celestin?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Celestin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.