Cicel
A feminine variant spelling of Cecil, an English name originating as a surname meaning "blind".
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Cicel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cicel today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cicel births was 1954 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cicel. 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 Cicel is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cicels were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cicel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1954
7 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1954 SSA rank
#3,212
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Cicel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cicel from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Cicel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cicel 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 Cicel 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 Cicel
The name Cicel is an Old English given name that originated in the Anglo-Saxon period of Britain, dating back to the 5th-11th centuries. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "cycell" or "cicel," which refer to a type of cloak or mantle worn in that era. The name may have been given to children as a reference to their swaddling clothes or the warmth and protection provided by such garments.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Cicel, a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon abbess and saint who founded the Abbey of Cricklade in Wiltshire, England. Her life and miracles were documented in the "Acta Sanctorum," a collection of hagiographies compiled by the Bollandist scholars in the 17th century.
In the 9th century, a Mercian nobleman named Cicel is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record of the time. This Cicel was involved in a dispute over land ownership with the Bishop of Worcester in the year 836.
During the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, a knight named Cicel is recorded as having fought alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Cicel's bravery and loyalty were rewarded with lands in the newly conquered kingdom.
In the 12th century, a renowned scholar and theologian named Cicel of Canterbury gained recognition for his contributions to the study of canon law and his writings on the relationship between church and state. He served as a advisor to several English monarchs and played a significant role in the ecclesiastical affairs of the time.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Cicel the Illuminator, a 13th-century English monk and artist renowned for his exquisite illuminated manuscripts. His works, including the iconic "Cicel Psalter," are considered masterpieces of medieval book arts and are preserved in various museums and libraries around the world.
People
Cicel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cicel 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
Cicel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cicel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cicel 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Cicel a common name?
We classify Cicel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cicel most popular?
The single biggest year for Cicel was 1954, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cicel is about 81 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 Cicel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cicel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cicel in the SSA data are male. 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 Cicel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cicel 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 Cicel 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 share the name Cicel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.