Ceola
A feminine name derived from the Old English words "ceol" meaning ship and "leoma" meaning protector.
Name Census estimates that about 460 living Americans carry the first name Ceola. It is a predominantly female name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Ceola today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ceola births was 1924 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ceola. 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 Ceola is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ceolas were born before 1961.
People living today
460
~ 1 in 745,118 Americans
Peak year
1924
75 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1936 SSA rank
#3,202
Tracked since 1890
Gender
Gender distribution for Ceola
Out of the 2,185 babies given the name Ceola since 1880, 99.0% 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.
Ceola as a male name
- Ranked #3,202 in 1936
- 6 male births in 1936
- Peak: 1936 (6 births)
Ceola as a female name
- Ranked #12,110 in 1988
- 5 female births in 1988
- Peak: 1924 (70 births)
Popularity
Ceola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ceola from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 549 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ceola 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 Ceola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ceolas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Ceola, while Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 134 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ceola
The name Ceola has its origins in Old English, derived from the words "ceol" meaning "ship" and "leah" meaning "clearing" or "meadow." It was a common name among the Anglo-Saxons in England during the 6th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ceola is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record that dates back to the late 9th century. The chronicle mentions a person named Ceola who was an ealdorman (nobleman) in the kingdom of Mercia during the reign of King Coenwalh in the 7th century.
Another notable historical figure with the name Ceola was a Northumbrian prince who lived in the late 7th century. He was the son of King Cutha of Northumbria and is mentioned in the writings of the Venerable Bede, an English monk and scholar from the 8th century.
In the 9th century, there was a Ceola who served as the Bishop of Mercia from around 825 to 840 AD. He is mentioned in various ecclesiastical records and chronicles from that period.
During the 10th century, a prominent individual named Ceola was the Ealdorman of Defenascir (modern-day Devonshire) in the Kingdom of Wessex. He is mentioned in several Anglo-Saxon charters and legal documents from that time.
Another historical figure with the name Ceola was a thegn (lord or nobleman) who lived in the late 11th century during the reign of King William I of England (also known as William the Conqueror). He is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land holdings and estates in England commissioned by William I in 1086.
While the name Ceola was primarily used in Anglo-Saxon England, it has also been recorded in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with Germanic influences. However, its usage declined significantly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, as many Old English names were gradually replaced by French and Norman names.
People
Ceola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ceola 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
Ceola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ceola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 460 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ceola 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 745,118 US residents.
Is Ceola a common name?
We classify Ceola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ceola most popular?
The single biggest year for Ceola was 1924, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ceola is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ceola a female name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Ceola 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.