Celsa
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "noble" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Celsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celsa today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celsa births was 1995 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celsa. 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 Celsa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1995
10 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2003 SSA rank
#16,241
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Celsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celsa from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Celsa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Celsa 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 Celsa 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 Celsa
The name Celsa has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "celsus," meaning "lofty" or "elevated." It was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Rome but was used by a few notable figures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear this name was Celsa, a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century AD. She was the wife of Lucius Junius Silanus, a prominent senator during the reign of Emperor Nero.
In the 2nd century AD, there was a Christian martyr named Celsa who was executed during the persecutions under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, with her feast day celebrated on November 25th.
During the Middle Ages, the name Celsa was rarely used, but it resurfaced in the Renaissance period. One notable figure from this era was Celsa Pierfrancesca (1490-1557), an Italian poet and writer from Bologna. Her works included a collection of sonnets and a treatise on the education of women.
In the 17th century, Celsa Chiaruttini (1620-1689) was an Italian painter from Genoa who specialized in portraiture and religious scenes. Her works can be found in several churches and museums in Italy.
Another historical figure with this name was Celsa Sforza (1693-1767), an Italian noblewoman from the powerful Sforza family. She was the Countess of Santa Fiora and played an influential role in the politics of her time.
Throughout history, the name Celsa has remained relatively rare, but it has been used by individuals from various backgrounds and professions. Its Latin roots and association with nobility, religion, and the arts have contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Celsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celsa 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
Celsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celsa 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Celsa a common name?
We classify Celsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Celsa was 1995, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celsa is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Celsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celsa 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.