Celso
An Italian masculine name derived from the Roman surname Celsus, meaning "the lofty or eminent one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,912 living Americans carry the first name Celso. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Celso today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Celso births was 2006 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Celso. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 179,265 Americans
Peak year
2006
48 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,261
Tracked since 1910
Census
Celso in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,523 people with the first name Celso, which placed it at #3,269 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
#3,269
National first-name rank
People counted
6.5K
6,523 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celso
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celso is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%) and White (7.1%). 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 Celso 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 Celso at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.0% · 5,347
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 634
- White7.1% · 466
- Black or African American0.8% · 53
- Two or more races0.2% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Popularity
Celso: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Celso from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 377 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Celso 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 Celso during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Celsos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Celso, while New Jersey, Florida, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 119 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Celso
The name Celso originated from the Latin language and is derived from the word "celsus," which means "elevated" or "lofty." This name has its roots in ancient Roman culture, where it was often given to individuals born into noble or prominent families.
In the early days of the Roman Empire, the name Celso was associated with virtue, dignity, and a sense of excellence. It was believed that individuals bearing this name would possess qualities of leadership, ambition, and a strong moral character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Celso can be found in the writings of the famous Roman philosopher and statesman, Seneca the Younger, who lived from 4 BC to 65 AD. He mentioned a friend named Celso in one of his letters, indicating the name's usage during that time period.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Celso. One prominent figure was Celso Cesare Melloni, an Italian physicist and mathematician who lived from 1798 to 1876. He made significant contributions to the study of the polarization of light and the development of early photography techniques.
Another individual of historical significance was Celso Furtado, a Brazilian economist and influential thinker who lived from 1920 to 2004. He was a renowned proponent of the structuralist school of economic thought and played a crucial role in shaping development policies in Latin America.
In the realm of literature, Celso Antonio Bandeira was a celebrated Brazilian poet who lived from 1886 to 1968. His works, which explored themes of modernity and urban life, are considered significant contributions to the Brazilian literary canon.
Celso Fávero was a Brazilian artist and painter who lived from 1962 to 1994. His vibrant and expressive works, often depicting scenes of everyday life, have been widely exhibited and celebrated in the art world.
Finally, Celso Borges is a contemporary Costa Rican professional footballer who was born in 1988. He has represented his country in several major international tournaments and is regarded as one of the most talented midfielders in Central American football.
These are just a few examples of the diverse individuals who have carried the name Celso throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and disciplines.
People
Celso + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Celso 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
Celso: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Celso?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Celso 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 179,265 US residents.
Is Celso a common name?
We classify Celso as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Celso most popular?
The single biggest year for Celso was 2006, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Celso is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Celso in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,523 people with the name Celso, or 2.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,269 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 Celso 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 Celso?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Celso appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,518 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Celso?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Celso is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%) and White (7.1%). 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 Celso most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Celso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (5,347 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 Celso in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Celso a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Celso in the SSA data are male. 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 Celso still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Celso 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 Celso 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 have Celso as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.