# Celia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/celia/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “heaven” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Ce, Cel |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 56,716 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 74 / 56,642 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,017, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Caelia, feminine of Roman family name Caelius, probably from caelum (“heaven”). Introduced into English by William Shakespeare in As You Like It.

## What it means

Celia is grouped under sky.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 372 | 741 |
| 2012 | 376 | 740 |
| 2013 | 355 | 768 |
| 2014 | 356 | 787 |
| 2015 | 328 | 852 |
| 2016 | 344 | 835 |
| 2017 | 324 | 838 |
| 2018 | 287 | 932 |
| 2019 | 308 | 869 |
| 2020 | 345 | 790 |
| 2021 | 358 | 791 |
| 2022 | 323 | 861 |
| 2023 | 332 | 828 |
| 2024 | 383 | 735 |
| 2025 | 351 | 774 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 6 | 3,884 |
| 1927 | 7 | 3,504 |
| 1929 | 5 | 4,054 |
| 1930 | 8 | 3,061 |
| 1931 | 8 | 2,897 |
| 1932 | 6 | 3,430 |
| 1933 | 6 | 3,329 |
| 1934 | 5 | 3,753 |
| 1937 | 8 | 2,709 |
| 1972 | 5 | 5,092 |
| 1980 | 5 | 6,391 |
| 1984 | 5 | 6,460 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 28 | 1,168 |
| 2012 | 28 | 1,184 |
| 2013 | 35 | 1,018 |
| 2014 | 33 | 1,070 |
| 2015 | 38 | 942 |
| 2016 | 31 | 1,112 |
| 2017 | 33 | 1,063 |
| 2018 | 28 | 1,200 |
| 2019 | 36 | 980 |
| 2020 | 42 | 853 |
| 2021 | 44 | 812 |
| 2022 | 49 | 746 |
| 2023 | 34 | 1,008 |
| 2024 | 50 | 751 |
| 2025 | 50 | 733 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Cèlia
- Chinese: 西莉亞 /西莉亚
- French: Célia
- Italian: Celia
- Latin: Caelia
- Polish: Celina, Celia
- Portuguese: Célia
- Romanian: Celia
- Spanish: Celia

## People named Celia

- Celia Cruz, Cuban singer (1925–2003)
- Celia Johnson, English actress (1908–1982)
- Célia Šašić, German association football player
- Celia Imrie, British actress
- Celia Weston, American actress (1951-)
- Celia Sánchez, Cuban revolutionary (1920-1980)
- Célia Xakriabá, Brazilian indigenous educator and activist
- Celia Rees, English author
- Célia Aymonier, French biathlete and cross-country skier
- Celia Adler, American television actor (1889-1979)
- Celia Lovsky, Austrian actress (1897-1979)
- Celia Franca, British dancer, founder and artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada (1921-2007)

## 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.