MEANING & HISTORY
What does Cecilia mean?
Cecilia is the feminine Latin form of the Roman family name Caecilius. The usual etymological explanation connects that family name with caecus, the Latin adjective meaning blind.
The name’s later Christian history centres on Saint Cecilia, who became associated with music and musicians. That musical association explains much of the name’s cultural appeal, but music is not the literal translation of Cecilia. The lexical root is part of an inherited family-name history, not a statement about the eyesight, abilities or character of a person who bears the name.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Spanish
- /θeˈθilja/
- [θeˈθi.lja]
- /seˈsilja/
- [seˈsi.lja]
Ce · ci · lia3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila.
A female given name from Latin.
Wiktionary: Cecilia (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
a female given name, equivalent to English Cecilia
Wiktionary: Cecilia (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Cecilia
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma
Filipino judge
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Karyn Velez
badminton player
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
17
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
13
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Karyn Velez
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Cecilia in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Cecilia
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Cecelia·Cecilia-family form; possibly linked with Latin blind
- Cecilio♂From Roman Caecilius, traditionally linked with blind
- Cecil♂Roman Caecilius; also an English family-name route
- Cecile♀Unaccented Cécile, French form of Cecilia
- Cecille·Creative spelling of Cecile
- Celia♀Feminine of Caelius; also a short form of Cecilia
- Emilia♀Feminine form of the Roman family name Aemilius
- Basilia♀Feminine Basil-name form; royal
What rhymes with Cecilia?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Recorded combinations with Cecilia
3 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Cecilia Claire·Cecilia: Roman Caecilius family, associated with Latin caecus, blind; Claire: French form of Clara
- Cecilia Rizza·Source record
- Maria Cecilia·Maria: Latin and Greek transmission of Hebrew Miryam, whose ultimate meaning is uncertain; Cecilia: feminine Roman Caecilius-family name, historically linked to Latin blind
Explore Cecilia further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q859234 — Cecilia (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Cecilia Muñoz-Palma (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q859234 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Karyn Velez (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q859234 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Cecilia (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Cecilia (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Cecilia (opens in a new tab)
Onomastic account consulted for this exact name or its explicitly linked name family.