Cecil

Meaning: Possibly blind
Origin: Latin — From the Roman family name Caecilius

Boy's name · #1486 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Cecil is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1902, when it ranked #65. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 107,000 boys since 1880, ranked #1486 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Cecil is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 11 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Cecil ranks in other countries and regions.

#2,144 in Sweden (2025) · #2,789 in Canada (2025) · #4,275 in England & Wales (2025) · #3,800 in France (2023) · #2,128 in Austria (2017) · #2,624 in Ecuador (2017) · #271 in Ireland (1988) · #206 in New Zealand (1957).

Famous Cecils

Cecil John Rhodes — British mining magnate and politician (1853–1902)
Cecil Frank Powell — British physicist (1903–1969)
Cecil B. DeMille — American filmmaker and actor (1881–1959)
Cecil Beaton — British photographer and designer (1904–1980)
Cecil Day-Lewis — Irish-born British poet (1904–1972)

In stories & tradition

Cecil Terwilliger — The Simpsons character
Cecil Turtle — Looney Tunes character
Cecil Palmer — Pilot (TV episode)

What Cecils become

Among 1,025 notable people named Cecil:

Military figures appear 2.79× more often than among typical names — e.g. Cecil Callaghan, Australian general (1890–1967).

Similar names: Morris · Chester · Pete · Virgil · Will · Charley

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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