Celina
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 14,125 living Americans carry the first name Celina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celina today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celina births was 1994 (593 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celina. 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 Celina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 24,266 Americans
Peak year
1994
593 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
1978 SSA rank
#969
Tracked since 1880
Census
Celina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 17,444 people with the first name Celina, which placed it at #1,737 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
#1,737
National first-name rank
People counted
17K
17,444 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
60.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celina is Hispanic at 60.5%. The next largest groups are White (22.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.9%). 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 Celina 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 Celina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino60.5% · 10,559
- White22.3% · 3,884
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.9% · 1,381
- Black or African American5.9% · 1,031
- Two or more races2.7% · 468
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 121
Gender
Gender distribution for Celina
Out of the 15,970 babies given the name Celina since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Celina as a male name
- Ranked #5,153 in 1978
- 6 male births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (6 births)
Celina as a female name
- Ranked #969 in 2024
- 267 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (593 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celina appears almost entirely female. Of the 17,445 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Celina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celina from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,009 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
Celina 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 Celina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Celina, while Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 337 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Celina
Celina is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the word "keline" which means "heavenly" or "celestial." The name can be traced back to ancient Greek culture and has been in use for over two millennia.
In ancient times, the name Celina was associated with the Greek goddess of the moon, Selene. It was believed that babies born under a full moon were blessed with celestial favor, and were often given names related to the moon or heavens, such as Celina.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Celina can be found in the works of the Greek philosopher and mathematician, Ptolemy, who lived in the 2nd century AD. He mentions a woman named Celina in his writings, though little is known about her life.
During the Middle Ages, the name Celina became popular among Christians, particularly in Italy and Spain. It was often given to girls born on the feast day of St. Celine, a 5th-century virgin martyr who was venerated for her piety and devotion to the Christian faith.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Celina Benigna Fugger (1539-1594) was a German noblewoman and philanthropist who established several charitable institutions in Augsburg, Germany. Her legacy helped to promote the name's popularity in Europe.
Another historical figure with the name Celina was Celina Sobieski (1586-1634), a Polish noblewoman and the mother of King John III Sobieski of Poland. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was known for her intelligence and diplomatic skills.
Celina Arregui (1798-1857) was a Spanish writer and educator who advocated for women's education and the improvement of teaching methods in Spain. Her works helped to raise awareness of the importance of education for women in the 19th century.
In the 20th century, Celina Gonzalez (1914-2012) was a Mexican artist and painter who gained recognition for her vibrant and colorful depictions of Mexican culture and daily life. Her artwork celebrated the traditions and heritage of her homeland.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the name Celina, which has endured for centuries and continues to be popular in various cultures around the world.
People
Celina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celina 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
Celina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,125 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celina 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 24,266 US residents.
Is Celina a common name?
We classify Celina as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,970 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celina most popular?
The single biggest year for Celina was 1994, when 593 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celina 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 Celina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 17,444 people with the name Celina, or 5.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,737 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 Celina 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 Celina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celina appears almost entirely female. Of the 17,445 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Celina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celina is Hispanic at 60.5%. The next largest groups are White (22.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.9%). 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 Celina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Celina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.5% (10,559 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 Celina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celina 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 Celina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celina 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 Celina 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 Celina?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.