Cilla
A diminutive form of Cecilia, a feminine Latin name meaning "blind".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Cilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cilla today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cilla births was 1907 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cilla. 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 Cilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1907
7 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2009 SSA rank
#17,913
Tracked since 1882
Census
Cilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Cilla, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cilla is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Cilla 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 Cilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.5% · 86
- Black or African American16.8% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.5% · 7
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
Popularity
Cilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cilla from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Cilla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cilla 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 Cilla 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 Cilla
The name Cilla has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Latin name Caecilia, which means "blind" or "dim-sighted." This name was likely given to a child born with visual impairments or as a term of endearment.
In the early days, Cilla was predominantly used in Spain and other Spanish-speaking regions. However, its popularity later spread to other parts of Europe, particularly in the Middle Ages. The name was also occasionally used in ancient texts and religious scriptures, though its appearances were relatively rare.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cilla can be found in the 5th century, when a Spanish saint named Santa Cilla lived. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and her feast day is celebrated on February 13th.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cilla. One of the most famous was Cilla Black (1943-2015), a British singer and television personality who rose to prominence in the 1960s with hits like "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World."
Another well-known Cilla was Cilla Rainne (1888-1964), a Swedish actress and singer who was active in the early 20th century. She is considered a pioneer of Swedish cinema and appeared in over 40 films during her career.
In the realm of literature, Cilla is the name of a character in the 1928 novel "The Voyage Out" by Virginia Woolf. The character, Cilla Theobald, is described as a young woman accompanying her aunt on a cruise.
Moving to the 19th century, Cilla Levick (1840-1936) was a British artist and painter known for her portraits and landscapes. She was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and exhibited her works extensively.
Lastly, Cilla Borromeo (1550-1624) was an Italian noble and the founder of the Ursuline Order of nuns. She dedicated her life to education and established several schools for young women in her native Milan.
People
Cilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cilla 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
Cilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cilla 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Cilla a common name?
We classify Cilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Cilla was 1907, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cilla is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Cilla, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Cilla 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 Cilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cilla appears almost entirely female. Of the 158 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Cilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cilla is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Cilla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.5% (86 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 Cilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cilla 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 Cilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cilla 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 Cilla 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 Cilla?
Find out how many Americans are named Cilla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.