Find out how popular the last name Cecilia is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cecilia.

Cecilia, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cecilia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cecilia in America

Cecilia is the 68770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cecilia surname appeared 286 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cecilia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cecilia to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cecilia

The surname CECILIA is derived from the Latin feminine given name Caecilia, which was a Roman family name. The Latin word 'caecus' means 'blind'. The name was likely given to someone who was blind or had poor eyesight.

CECILIA is an Italian surname that originated in Rome and other parts of Italy during the Roman period. The name can be traced back to ancient Roman times, and variations of the spelling include Cecili, Cecilii, and Caecilii.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the CECILIA surname is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Cava de' Tirreni monastery in Salerno, Italy. The name appears in records from the 11th century.

In England, the CECILIA surname is sometimes anglicized as CECILL or CECIL. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (1520-1598), was an English statesman and Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. His grandson, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612), was also a prominent politician and served as Secretary of State.

Another notable person with the CECILIA surname was the Italian composer Giovanna Cecilia (1567-1642), who was one of the first female composers of the Renaissance period to have her works published.

The CECILIA surname can also be found in Spain, where it is sometimes spelled CECILIA or CECILIO. One example is the Spanish painter Andrés Cecilio (1620-1688), who was known for his religious artworks and portraits.

In France, the surname is often rendered as CÉCILE or CÉCILLE. François Cécille (1605-1692) was a French mathematician and astronomer who contributed to the development of calculus and the study of planetary motion.

While less common, the CECILIA surname has also appeared in other parts of Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands, where it may be spelled as CÄCILIE or CECILIA, respectively.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cecilia

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cecilia.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cecilia was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cecilia has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cecilia was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cecilia, please contact us.

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