Given name & surname
Celeste
“a heavenly daughter”
Celeste is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a heavenly daughter.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a heavenly daughter.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
From French Céleste, from Latin caelestis (“heavenly”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Celeste through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 65,678
- 57 boys · 65,621 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 1,662 babies
- 2025
- 1,662
- #188 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +72%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,662 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 188 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 72.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (330). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 51,111 as a first name in 2020; 1,460 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.
Celeste’s family of names
Celeste has a related form in Celestine. Celeste has a related form in Celestina. Celeste has a related form in Celesta.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Celeste
- Celeste HolmAmerican actress (1917–2012)
- KaitlynAmerican bodybuilder, model, and professional wrestlerborn 1986
- Celeste NgAmerican novelistborn 1980
- Celeste YarnallAmerican actress (1944-2018)
- Celeste CortesiFilipino model and beauty pageant titleholderborn 1997
- Celeste CaeiroPortuguese restaurant worker during the Carnation Revolution (1933–2024)
- CelesteBritish singerborn 1994
- Celeste CidArgentine actressborn 1984
- Celeste PlakDutch volleyball playerborn 1995
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Celeste, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cecilia
“blind”
>99% girls
Evangeline
“a bringer of good news”
>99% girls
Gemma
“gem, jewel” · “as precious as a jewel”
>99% girls
Lucy
“light”
>99% girls
Vienna
“from the wine country; from Vienna”
>99% girls
Lucia
“light”
>99% girls
Francesca
“frenchman” · “woman from France; one who is free”
>99% girls
Mira
“one who is prosperous” · “a peaceful woman”
>99% girls