Celsey
A diminutive form of "Celia" and ultimately derived from celestial origins.
Name Census estimates that about 217 living Americans carry the first name Celsey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celsey today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celsey births was 1994 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celsey. 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.
People living today
217
~ 1 in 1,579,513 Americans
Peak year
1994
20 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2013 SSA rank
#14,997
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Celsey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celsey from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 133 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
Celsey 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 Celsey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celseys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Celsey
The name Celsey is a relatively modern creation and does not have a long historical lineage. However, it is likely derived from the Celtic name Celsus or Kelso, which has its origins in the ancient Brittonic language spoken in parts of Britain and France. The name Celsus is believed to be derived from the Latin word "celsus," meaning "high" or "lofty."
While there are no definitive records of the name Celsey being used in ancient times, the name Celsus has a historical presence. One notable figure was Celsus, a Greek philosopher and ardent opponent of early Christianity who lived in the 2nd century AD. He authored a renowned work titled "The True Word" (or "True Discourse"), which criticized the Christian faith and its teachings.
Another individual named Celsus was a Roman encyclopedist and writer on agriculture who lived in the 1st century AD. His work, "De Medicina," was a comprehensive medical encyclopedia that remained influential for several centuries.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Celsey itself are relatively recent, dating back to the late 20th century. One of the first notable individuals with this name was Celsey Borjeson, an American actress and model born in 1979. She appeared in various television shows and films throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Another individual named Celsey was Celsey LeGrande, a Canadian ice hockey player who played for various teams in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in the 2010s.
A third person with this name was Celsey Williams, an American singer and songwriter who rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B group Cherish. She co-wrote several of the group's hit songs, including "Do It to It" and "Unappreciated."
While not as well-known as some other names, Celsey has been embraced by a small but diverse group of individuals across various fields, including entertainment, sports, and music. However, its relatively modern origins and limited historical usage make it a unique and distinctive name in the present day.
People
Celsey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celsey 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
Celsey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celsey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 217 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celsey 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 1,579,513 US residents.
Is Celsey a common name?
We classify Celsey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 223 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celsey most popular?
The single biggest year for Celsey was 1994, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celsey is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Celsey a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celsey 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.