# Cecil (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/cecil/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “blind” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsiːsəl/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 114,676 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 106,989 / 7,687 (7% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 98, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Caecilius, a Roman family name derived from caecus (“blind”). The surname has absorbed the Old Welsh Seisyllt, from Latin Sextilius, from Sextus.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 10 | 6,370 |
| 1985 | 7 | 8,479 |
| 1986 | 9 | 7,215 |
| 1987 | 7 | 8,920 |
| 1988 | 8 | 8,514 |
| 1989 | 12 | 6,602 |
| 1990 | 5 | 13,304 |
| 1993 | 9 | 8,847 |
| 1994 | 7 | 10,767 |
| 1995 | 5 | 13,795 |
| 2001 | 6 | 13,842 |
| 2003 | 8 | 11,516 |
| 2004 | 5 | 16,606 |
| 2015 | 5 | 16,984 |
| 2022 | 5 | 15,784 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 91 | 1,659 |
| 2012 | 97 | 1,602 |
| 2013 | 114 | 1,448 |
| 2014 | 99 | 1,590 |
| 2015 | 114 | 1,468 |
| 2016 | 103 | 1,588 |
| 2017 | 103 | 1,576 |
| 2018 | 114 | 1,508 |
| 2019 | 98 | 1,653 |
| 2020 | 97 | 1,647 |
| 2021 | 114 | 1,539 |
| 2022 | 114 | 1,561 |
| 2023 | 117 | 1,509 |
| 2024 | 122 | 1,482 |
| 2025 | 119 | 1,486 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 8 | 2,318 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2011 | 3 | 4,647 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2014 | 5 | 3,362 |
| 2015 | 6 | 3,004 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2018 | 7 | 2,693 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,682 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,048 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,275 |

## In other languages

- Italian: Cecilio
- Latin: Caecilius
- Polish: Cecyliusz
- Portuguese: Cecílio
- Spanish: Cecilio
- Ukrainian: Цецилій

## People named Cecil

- Cecil John Rhodes, British businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa (1853-1902)
- Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist
- Cecil B. DeMille, American film director, producer and actor (1881–1959)
- Arthur Cecil Pigou, British economist (1877-1959)
- Cecil Beaton, British photographer, designer, socialite, writer (1904–1980)
- Cecil Taylor, American jazz pianist and poet (1929–2018)
- Cecil Bødker, Danish writer (1927–2020)
- Cecil Healy, Australian swimmer (1881–1918)
- Cecil Griffiths, British athlete (1900–1945)
- Cecil D. Andrus, American politician (1931-2017)
- Cecil Sharp, English folk song collector, teacher, songwriter and musician
- Robert Cecil Martin, American software consultant (b. 1952)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.