Celesta
A feminine name of Latin origin relating to the heavens or sky.
Name Census estimates that about 933 living Americans carry the first name Celesta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celesta today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celesta births was 1921 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celesta. 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.
People living today
933
~ 1 in 367,368 Americans
Peak year
1921
47 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,778
Tracked since 1881
Census
Celesta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,045 people with the first name Celesta, which placed it at #12,050 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
#12,050
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,045 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celesta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celesta is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Celesta 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 Celesta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.7% · 707
- Black or African American16.9% · 177
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 81
- Two or more races4.4% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 16
Popularity
Celesta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celesta from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 347 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Celesta 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 Celesta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celestas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Celesta, while Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Celesta
The name Celesta has its origins in Latin, deriving from the word "caelestis," which means "heavenly" or "celestial." This name was likely bestowed upon individuals in ancient times as a way to honor their perceived divine or celestial qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Celesta can be found in the writings of the Roman poet Ovid, who lived from 43 BC to 17 AD. In his famous work "Metamorphoses," he mentions a character named Celesta, though it is unclear whether this was a fictional persona or a real individual.
During the Middle Ages, the name Celesta gained popularity within certain religious orders and monasteries. It was often given to nuns or other religious figures as a way to symbolize their dedication to the heavenly realm and their perceived closeness to the divine.
In the 16th century, the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael (1483-1520) included a figure named Celesta in his famous fresco "The School of Athens," which adorns the walls of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. This artistic depiction further solidified the name's association with the celestial and divine.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Celesta was Celesta Venegas (1515-1590), a Spanish nun and mystic who lived in the convent of San José in Ávila, Spain. She was known for her spiritual visions and her close friendship with St. Teresa of Ávila.
In the 18th century, the French author and philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) included a character named Celesta in his satirical novella "Candide." This literary reference helped to popularize the name among intellectual and literary circles in Europe.
During the 19th century, the name Celesta gained some prominence in certain parts of Europe. One notable figure was Celesta Sternberg (1812-1872), an Austrian countess and philanthropist who founded several charitable institutions in Vienna.
Another significant figure with this name was Celesta Winslow (1851-1944), an American educator and activist who advocated for women's rights and played a crucial role in the establishment of the Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
In more recent times, the name Celesta has been relatively uncommon, though it has maintained a certain mystique and association with the celestial and divine. It continues to be bestowed upon individuals in various cultures, often with the intention of imbuing them with a sense of spirituality and connection to the heavenly realms.
People
Celesta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celesta 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
Celesta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celesta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 933 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celesta 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 367,368 US residents.
Is Celesta a common name?
We classify Celesta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celesta most popular?
The single biggest year for Celesta was 1921, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celesta is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Celesta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,045 people with the name Celesta, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,050 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 Celesta 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 Celesta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celesta appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,053 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Celesta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celesta is White at 67.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Celesta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Celesta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.7% (707 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 Celesta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celesta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celesta 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 Celesta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celesta 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 Celesta 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 common is the name Celesta?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Celesta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.