Cellie
A diminutive form of the English name Celeste, meaning "heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Cellie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cellie today is around 135 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cellie births was 1920 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cellie. 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
- • The typical person named Cellie is about 135 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cellies were born before 1901.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cellie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1920
11 babies that year
Average age
135
years old
1929 SSA rank
#3,440
Tracked since 1896
Popularity
Cellie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cellie from the 1890s through to the 1920s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 41 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
Cellie 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 Cellie 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 Cellie
The name Cellie is believed to have originated from the Latin word "cella," which means "small room" or "cell." This word was commonly used in ancient Roman times to refer to small storage rooms or living quarters for servants or slaves.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cellie can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was used as a diminutive form of the name Cecilia. Cecilia was a popular name among early Christians, derived from the Roman family name Caecilius, which meant "blind."
In the Middle Ages, the name Cellie was associated with Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music and musicians. According to legend, Saint Cecilia was a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD and was known for her unwavering faith and devotion to Christ.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Cellie was Cellie de Beauvais, a 13th-century French noblewoman and landowner. She was known for her involvement in the construction of several churches and monasteries in the Beauvais region of France.
Another notable historical figure with the name Cellie was Cellie Auclair, a 16th-century French philosopher and scholar. She was born in 1521 and is remembered for her writings on ethics and moral philosophy, which were influential during the Renaissance period.
In the 17th century, Cellie Saunders was a prominent English botanist and naturalist. Born in 1638, she made significant contributions to the study of plant life and is credited with the discovery of several new plant species.
During the 18th century, Cellie Rousseau was a French painter and artist who was known for her intricate portraiture and landscape paintings. She lived from 1712 to 1778 and was a member of the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
In more recent history, Cellie Faure was a 19th-century French opera singer and vocal coach. Born in 1822, she was renowned for her powerful soprano voice and her contributions to the development of operatic singing techniques.
People
Cellie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cellie 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
Cellie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cellie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cellie 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Cellie a common name?
We classify Cellie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 93 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cellie most popular?
The single biggest year for Cellie was 1920, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cellie is about 135 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 Cellie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cellie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cellie 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 Cellie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cellie 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 Cellie 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 are called Cellie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.