Celia
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Celia
Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern. Derived from the Latin Caelius, it means "heavenly".
Shakespeare has been credited with introducing Celia in As You Like It, and it was to Celia that the poet Ben Jonson penned the immortal line, "Drink to me only with thine eyes." Other literary Celias have appeared in works ranging from George Eliot's Middlemarch to T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party to Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin
While Celia has a similar sound to Cecilia, and may well be used as a short form of the longer name, the two have different roots. Cecilia comes from the Latin caecus meaning "blind", while Celia is from caelum meaning "heaven".
Familiar but not overused, Celia has been in the US Top 1000 since records began in the 1880s, however, it has been outside the Top 500 since the 60s. Also in the England and Wales Top 1000, it is a favorite in Spain, France, and Belgium. Said as SEE-lee-uh or SEEL-yuh among English speakers, in Spanish, it may be pronounced THEHL-ya or SEHL-ya, depending on region.
A bit of trivia: Celia is an anagram of Alice, meaning it could potentially work as an honor name.
Celia is also given to boys.
Pronounced SEEL-yuh.
As of October 2026, Celia ranked #774 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #141 in 1882, Nameberry popularity #157.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #787 | 356 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #851 | 328 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #835 | 344 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #838 | 324 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #931 | 287 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #868 | 308 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #790 | 345 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #791 | 358 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #861 | 323 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #827 | 332 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #734 | 382 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #774 | 351 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Celia on lists
Famous Celias
- (Úrsula Hilaria) Celia de la Caridad Cruz (Alfonso)Girl
Cuban,American singer
- Celia Elizabeth JohnsonGirl
English actress
- Celia Feinman AdlerGirl
American actress
- Celia Diana Savile ImrieGirl
English actress
- Celia KeenanGirl
Bolger, American actress and singer
- Celia WestonGirl
American actress
- Celia Mei RubinGirl
American actress
- Celia Sánchez (Manduley)Girl
Cuban revolutionary
- Celia CalderónGirl
Mexican painter
Celia in pop culture
- CeliaGirl
character in Shakespeare's "As You Like It'
- CeliaGirl
character in Jonathan Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room"
- Celia BowenGirl
character in Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus"
- Celia BrookeGirl
character in "Middlemarch" by George Eliot
- Celia CoplestoneGirl
from T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party"
- Celia FooteGirl
character in Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"
- Celia DawsonGirl
character on TV's "Last Tango in Halifax"
- Celia StewartGirl
character on Australian soap "Home & Away"
- Celia HodesGirl
character on TV's "Weeds"
- Celia MayGirl
character in Pixar's "Monsters, Inc."
- Celia PlaskettGirl
character in film "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
- Celia SolisGirl
character on TV's "Desperate Housewives"
- Cousin CeliaGirl
character in film "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang"
- Celia LyttonGirl
character in film "Spoils of Time" trilogy by Penny Vincenzi
- Celia MackGirl
character on TV's "Andi Mack"
- Celia HamiltonGirl
character from the "Mandie" series
- Celia PenderghastGirl
character in video game "inFAMOUS: Second Son"
- Celia Catherine "CeCe" RhodesGirl
character on TV's 'Gossip Girl'
- CeliaGirl
character in the video game "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life"
- CeliaGirl
daughter of Dr. Facilier in Disney's "Descendants 3"
- Celia RipleyGirl
character in podcast "The Magnus Protocol"
- "Amintor's Lamentation for Celia's Unkindness"Girl
17th century Broadside Ballad