How popular is the baby name Cecilia in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Cecilia.
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On July 27, 2009, Wisconsin couple Matthew and Annmarie Schulte tried to reach Aurora Sinai Medical Center in time for the birth of their fourth daughter. But they didn’t quite make it.
Their baby girl ended up being born on I-43, in the front passenger seat of their 1998 Toyota Corolla.
They’d planned to name the baby Cecilia Violet Marie, but in honor of her unusual birthplace they settle upon Cecilia Freeway instead.
Cecilia’s three older sisters are named Megan, Millie and Libby.
John and Margaret Nelson of Chesterfield, England, welcomed a baby girl at the very end of 1985. They named their daughter Tracy, but that’s not all they named her. This is Tracy’s full name:
| Tracy Mariclaire Lisa Tammy Samantha Christine Alexandra Candy Bonnie Ursala Zoe Nichola Patricia Lynda Kate Jean Sandra Karren Julie Jane Elizabeth Felicity Gabriella Jackie Corina Constance Arabella Clara Honor Geraldine Fiona Erika Fillippa Anabel Elsie Amanda Cheryl Alanna Louisa Angie Beth Crystal Dawn Debbie Eileen Grace Susan Rebecca Valerie Kay Lena Margaret Anna Amy Carol Bella Avril Ava Audry Andrea Daphne Donna Cynthia Cassie Christabel Vivien Wendy Moira Jennifer Abbie Adelaide Carrissa Carla Anne Astrid Barbara Charissa Catalina Bonny Dee Hazel Iris Anthea Clarinda Bernadette Cara Alison Carrie Angela Beryl Caroline Emma Dana Vanessa Zara Violet Lynn Maggie Pamela Rosemary Ruth Cathlene Alexandrina Annette Hilary Diana Angelina Carrinna Victoria Sara Mandy Annabella Beverly Bridget Cecilia Catherine Brenda Jessica Isbella Delilah Camila Candace Helen Connie Charmaine Dorothy Melinda Nancy Mariam Vicki Selina Miriam Norma Pauline Toni Penny Shari Zsa-zsa Queenie Nelson |
That’s 139 given names and 1 surname.
Why did John and Margaret do this to their daughter? According to John, “We just wanted to give her something for when she grows up.”
A reason that makes complete sense, of course.
Speaking of things that make sense, let’s pick out some of the needless repetition:
If you could go back in time and rename this baby, which two names (out of the 139) would you choose as her first and middle names?
Source: “Tracy for short.” Reading Eagle 24 Jan 1986: 1.
Not sure what to name your baby?
Maybe you should go with a classic. The following names have been popular in the U.S. since at least 1880 (when data on baby names was first collected). None of the male names have ever been out of the top 400, and none of the female names have ever been out of the top 500.
So, if you’re stumped, simply close your eyes and point. Just remember to veer to the left if you’re having a boy, to the right if you’re having a girl…
| Aaron Albert Alex Alexander Allen Andrew Andy Anthony Antonio Arthur Benjamin Calvin Charles Christopher Clayton Curtis Daniel David Dennis Donald Edgar Edward Edwin Felix Frank George | Grant Henry Isaac Jack Jacob James Jay Jerry Jesse Joe Joel John Jose Joseph Juan Julian Kenneth Louis Manuel Marcus Mark Martin Marvin Matthew Michael | Nathan Nathaniel Nicholas Oscar Patrick Paul Peter Philip Phillip Preston Raymond Richard Robert Ruben Samuel Stephen Theodore Thomas Timothy Tony Victor Vincent Walter Wesley William | Alice Amanda Amelia Amy Anna Anne Annie Caroline Catherine Cecilia Charlotte Christina Christine Claudia Cynthia Elizabeth Emily Emma Esther Eva Evelyn Grace Helen Jane Josephine Julia Katherine | Kathleen Kathryn Katie Laura Leah Lillian Linda Lydia Margaret Maria Mary Miriam Molly Nancy Naomi Nina Priscilla Rachel Rebecca Rose Rosa Ruby Ruth Sara Sarah Veronica |
Honorable Mentions: Douglas, Eddie, Ivan, Lawrence, Mitchell and Russell were each out of the top 400 only once, and Nora was out of the top 500 only once.
People tend to like the letters in their names more than the letters that are not in their names. This tendency, called the “name-letter effect,” may even influence some of the major life decisions people make. Studies have shown that people are disproportionately likely to…
The downside to this phenomenon is that if your initials match a negative outcome, you’re less likely to see that outcome as averse. This could make it harder for you to succeed. For instance, studies have found that:
None of the above correlations are extremely strong, but they’re statistically significant. So if you want your daughter to reach the Supreme Court, you might want to name her Lauren instead of Cecilia or Deirdre. If your dream is to see your son play in the majors, you might want to play it safe and give him something other than a k-name.
(The researchers who conducted the aforementioned studies include Jozef Nuttin, Brett Pelham, Mauricio Carvallo, Matthew Mirenberg, John Jones, Tom DeHart, John Hetts, C. Miguel Brendl, Amitava Chattopadhyay, Leif Nelson and Joseph Simmons.)