Cielo
Spanish word meaning "sky" or "heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 4,510 living Americans carry the first name Cielo. It is a predominantly female name (96.9% of registrations). The average person named Cielo today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cielo births was 2024 (375 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cielo. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Cielo with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Cielo is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 142 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Cielo is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 75,999 Americans
Peak year
2024
375 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#809
Tracked since 1977
Census
Cielo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,632 people with the first name Cielo, which placed it at #4,915 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,915
National first-name rank
People counted
3.6K
3,632 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
87.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cielo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cielo is Hispanic at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%) and White (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cielo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cielo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.8% · 3,190
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 261
- White3.2% · 116
- Two or more races0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Cielo
Cielo leans heavily female at 96.9% of total registrations, but 142 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Cielo as a male name
- Ranked #3,894 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (28 births)
Cielo as a female name
- Ranked #809 in 2024
- 347 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (347 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cielo leans strongly female. 3,518 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 118 male bearers (3.2%).
Popularity
Cielo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cielo from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,656 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cielo 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 Cielo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cielos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Cielo, while Tennessee, Ohio, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 132 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cielo
The name Cielo is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "cielo" meaning "sky" or "heaven." It is believed to have originated during the Renaissance period in Italy, when a fascination with the celestial realm and classical mythology influenced the naming traditions of the time.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cielo dates back to the late 15th century, when it appeared in Italian Renaissance literature and art. One notable example is the painting "Cielo di Napoli" by the Italian Renaissance artist Giovanna Vittoria Marasi, completed in 1490. This work celebrated the beauty of the Neapolitan sky and may have contributed to the popularity of the name in the region.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Cielo. In the 16th century, Cielo Della Rovere (1500-1570) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of the Renaissance artist Raphael. During the Baroque period, Cielo Santi (1620-1684) was an Italian painter and engraver, renowned for her religious works and portraits.
In the 19th century, Cielo Terigi (1820-1892) was an Italian poet and writer, celebrated for her lyrical compositions and contributions to the Romantic literary movement. Cielo Rivas (1864-1938), on the other hand, was a Venezuelan composer and musician, known for her work in promoting the traditional music of her country.
More recently, Cielo Asuncion (1935-2001) was a Filipino actress and singer, who gained fame for her performances in numerous Philippine films and television shows throughout the 20th century.
While the name Cielo has its roots in Italian culture, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries, where it is often associated with the beauty and majesty of the sky. The name continues to resonate with those who appreciate its celestial connotations and the rich cultural heritage it represents.
People
Cielo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cielo 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
Cielo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cielo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,510 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cielo 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 75,999 US residents.
Is Cielo a common name?
We classify Cielo as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cielo most popular?
The single biggest year for Cielo was 2024, when 375 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cielo is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cielo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,632 people with the name Cielo, or 1.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,915 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cielo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cielo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cielo leans strongly female. 3,518 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 118 male bearers (3.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cielo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cielo is Hispanic at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%) and White (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cielo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Cielo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (3,190 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Cielo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cielo a female name?
Yes, 96.9% of people registered as Cielo 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.
Is Cielo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cielo 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 Cielo 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.
How many people are named Cielo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.