The story behind Cecilia
From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila.
Other language forms and explanations (1)
Finnish entry
From Swedish Cecilia, from Latin Caecilia.
Pronunciation
English; dialect unspecified: /sɪˈsiːli.ə/
Regional pronunciation variants
- English; dialect unspecified: /sɪˈsɪli.ə/
- Finnish: /ˈsesi(ː)liɑ/
- Finnish: [ˈs̠e̞s̠i(ː)ˌliɑ̝]
Popularity
Cecilia ranked #108 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Cecilia
Camélia
From Latin Camellia and Arabic كَامِيليَا.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Carolina
From Italian Carolina or its etymon Latin Carolīna, from Carolus (“Charles”) + -īna (feminine diminutive suffix). By surface analysis, Carol (male given name) + -ina (feminine…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Cecelia
A female given name from Latin, variant of Cecilia.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Cecília
Learned borrowing from Latin Caecilia. Doublet of Sheila, through Irish. Derived from Latin Caecilia. Borrowed from Latin Caecilia, female form of Caecilius, a Roman family…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Cécilia
From Latin Caecilia, a Latinate variant of Cécile. Cognate to English Cecilia.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Cecylia
Learned borrowing from Latin Caecilia.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Cecilia
Balduino
Borrowed from Latin Balduinus, from Frankish *Baldawin, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (literally “bold friend”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Balduíno
Borrowed from Latin Balduinus, from Frankish *Baldawin, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (literally “bold friend”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Barbra
A female given name from Latin, a nonstandard spelling of Barbara. Associated with Barbra Streisand, who changed the spelling of her name from Barbara.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Cecilia
Aadolf
From Swedish Adolf, of Germanic origin (from Old High German adal (“noble”) + wolf (“wolf”)). Cognate with English Adolf, Adolph.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends F
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Aarón
a male given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Aaron
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Abdiasz
Learned borrowing from Latin Abdias, from Ancient Greek Ἀβδίας (Abdías), from Hebrew עובדיה.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends Z
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length