Given name & surname · also French
Cecile
Cecile is a feminine given name from French, ultimately from Latin. It is used in English, Cebuano, and Old French.
Original FrenchCécile
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Cecile comes from French, and ultimately from Latin.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English usage, Cecile developed from the Latin form CAECILIA.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cecile through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 20,612
- 191 boys · 20,421 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 503 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #5,592 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,592 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 495 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,689 as a first name in 2020; 160 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cecile’s family of names
In English usage, Cecile developed from the Latin form CAECILIA. Cecile has a related form in Cecilia. In English usage, Cecile was borrowed from the French form Cécile.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cecile
- Cecile ArnoldAmerican actress (1891-1931)
- Cecile RichardsAmerican feminist and abortion rights activist (1957-2025)
- Cecile LicadFilipina classical pianistborn 1961
- Cécile PieperGerman field hockey player (1994-)
- Cecile Esmei AmariIvorian association football playerborn 1991
- Cecile Hoover EdwardsAfrican American nutritional researcher (1926-2005)
- Cecile CilliersSouth African writer1933–2018
- Cecile WaltonScottish painter (1891-1956)
- Cecile de WentworthAmerican portrait painter (1853–1933)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cecile, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lucile
“one who is illuminated”
>99% girls
Cecelia
“blind”
>99% girls
Jeannette
Jeannette is used as a given name and a surname. Jeannette is connected with Jeanne.
>99% girls
Tessie
Tessie is a feminine given name from Spanish.
>99% girls
Stephania
“crowned in victory”
>99% girls
Elda
“a battlemaiden; a protector”
>99% girls
Esta
“woman from the East”
>99% girls
Pauline
“a petite woman”
>99% girls