Cesily
A feminine English name derived from the Latin name Caecilia, meaning "blind".
Name Census estimates that about 92 living Americans carry the first name Cesily. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cesily today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cesily births was 1990 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cesily. 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 Cesily. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
92
~ 1 in 3,725,591 Americans
Peak year
1990
23 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2007 SSA rank
#18,167
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Cesily: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cesily from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 45 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
Cesily 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 Cesily 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 Cesily
The name Cesily has its origins in the medieval English form of the Latin name Caecilia. The name Caecilia is derived from the Roman family name Caecilius, which is thought to come from the Latin word "caecus" meaning "blind." It is believed that the name was originally a nickname given to someone with impaired vision or to a member of the Caecilii family.
In the Middle Ages, the name Caecilia became popular among Christians due to its association with Saint Cecilia, the patroness of music and one of the most revered virgin martyrs in the Catholic Church. The name was commonly spelled as Cecily or Cesily in medieval England, and it was particularly favored by the nobility.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Cesily can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is mentioned in the records as belonging to a woman named Cesily of Shropshire.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Cesily or variations of the name. One of the most famous was Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (1415-1495), who was the mother of two kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. Another notable Cesily was Cecily Bonville, Baroness Harington and Bonville (c. 1460-1529), a wealthy English noblewoman and landowner.
In the 16th century, the name was borne by Cecily Tyndale (c. 1506-1553), the sister of the famous Protestant reformer William Tyndale. Cecily Tyndale was a staunch supporter of her brother's work and played a crucial role in preserving and distributing his translations of the Bible.
Another notable Cesily was Cecily Bulstrode (c. 1585-1639), an English poet and author who wrote religious and moral works. Her most famous work was a collection of poems titled "Poems of the Fervent Lover of Divine Love."
In the 17th century, the name was used by Cecily Mackworth (c. 1620-1698), an English heiress and patron of the arts. She was known for her support of writers and artists, including the poet John Dryden, who dedicated several works to her.
While the name Cesily has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it continues to be a testament to its rich historical heritage and its enduring association with strength, faith, and artistic expression.
People
Cesily + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cesily 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
Cesily: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cesily?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 92 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cesily 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 3,725,591 US residents.
Is Cesily a common name?
We classify Cesily as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cesily most popular?
The single biggest year for Cesily was 1990, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cesily is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cesily a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cesily 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.