Celia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "heavenly" or "sky-blue".
Name Census estimates that about 27,887 living Americans carry the first name Celia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Celia today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celia births was 1915 (853 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Celia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Celia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 74 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
28K
~ 1 in 12,291 Americans
Peak year
1915
853 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1984 SSA rank
#734
Tracked since 1880
Census
Celia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 49,708 people with the first name Celia, which placed it at #906 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
#906
National first-name rank
People counted
50K
49,708 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
16.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
56.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celia is Hispanic at 56.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.6%) and Black (4.4%). 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 Celia 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 Celia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino56.0% · 27,813
- White33.6% · 16,713
- Black or African American4.4% · 2,171
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 1,991
- Two or more races1.6% · 810
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 210
Gender
Gender distribution for Celia
Out of the 56,363 babies given the name Celia since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Celia as a male name
- Ranked #6,459 in 1984
- 5 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1930 (8 births)
Celia as a female name
- Ranked #734 in 2024
- 382 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1915 (853 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celia appears almost entirely female. Of the 49,709 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Celia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 6,559 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Celia 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 Celia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Celia, while Montana, Vermont, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 924 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Celia
The name Celia has its origins in the Latin language and culture, and it can be traced back to ancient Roman times. Originally, it was derived from the Latin word "caelestis," which means "heavenly" or "celestial." This connection to the heavens and divinity likely contributed to the name's popularity in ancient Rome.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Celia was a Roman matron who lived during the 1st century BC. She was mentioned in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Livy, who documented her involvement in a religious ceremony dedicated to the goddess Ceres.
During the Middle Ages, the name Celia gained popularity among Christians, as it was often associated with the Latin word "caelius," meaning "heavenly" or "celestial." This connection to the heavens aligned with Christian beliefs, making the name a popular choice for newborn girls.
In the 14th century, the Italian poet Petrarch immortalized the name Celia in his poetic works, using it as a pseudonym for his beloved Laura. This literary reference contributed to the name's enduring popularity in Italy and other parts of Europe.
Some notable historical figures who bore the name Celia include:
1. Celia Thaxter (1835-1894), an American poet and writer known for her works depicting life on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire.
2. Celia Cruz (1925-2003), a Cuban-American singer renowned as the "Queen of Salsa," who popularized Latin music and dance around the world.
3. Celia Franca (1921-2007), a British ballet dancer and founder of the National Ballet of Canada, who played a significant role in establishing ballet as a prominent art form in Canada.
4. Celia Johnson (1908-1982), an English actress best known for her role in the classic film "Brief Encounter" (1945), for which she received widespread critical acclaim.
5. Celia Fiennes (1662-1741), an English traveler and writer who documented her extensive travels throughout Britain in her diaries, providing valuable insights into the social and cultural landscape of the time.
Throughout history, the name Celia has been associated with elegance, grace, and a connection to the divine. Its enduring popularity across various cultures and time periods is a testament to its timeless appeal and rich historical significance.
People
Celia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celia 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
Celia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27,887 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celia 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 12,291 US residents.
Is Celia a common name?
We classify Celia as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56,363 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celia most popular?
The single biggest year for Celia was 1915, when 853 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celia is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Celia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 49,708 people with the name Celia, or 16.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #906 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 Celia 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 Celia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celia appears almost entirely female. Of the 49,709 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Celia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celia is Hispanic at 56.0%. The next largest groups are White (33.6%) and Black (4.4%). 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 Celia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Celia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (27,813 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 Celia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celia a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Celia 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 Celia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celia 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 Celia 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 many people share the name Celia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.