How Many People Are Named Cecil?

35,139

people named Cecil are alive in the United States today (estimate)

About 1 in 9,726 people in the US has this name

Based on 114,676 babies named Cecil in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.

Popularity Rank

#1,151

💎 Rare

Rank Among Boy Names

#493

See the top 100

Peak Year

1920

2,672 births

Trend

→

Stable (last 10 years)

📖 Name Origin & Meaning

Origin: English
Pronunciation: SEE-səl, SES-əl
Gender: Primarily Male

Meaning:

From the Roman name Caecilius (see CECILIA). This was the name of a 3rd-century saint, a companion of Saint Cyprian. Though it was in use during the Middle Ages in England, it did not become common until the 19th century when it was given in honour of the noble Cecil family, who had been prominent since the 16th century. Their surname was derived from the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of SEXTUS.

Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.

Related & Similar Names

⚧ Gender Distribution

Female
3.1%
Male
96.9%

Of the babies given the name Cecil, 3.1% were girls and 96.9% were boys. The share of girls among babies named Cecil fell from 29.5% in the 1880s to 0.7% in the 2020s.

👥 Age Distribution

The average person named Cecil alive today is about 61 years old, and 63% are 60 or older. Half of them were between 50 and 77 in 2025.

Under 30 3,327
9.5%
30 to 59 9,841
28%
60 and over 21,971
62.5%

📈 Popularity Over Time

Cecil first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1920, to 2,672 babies. In 2025, 119 babies got the name.

Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025

🏆 Rank History

Cecil never made the top 10 boys' names. Its best rank was #65, in 1902, and it was in the top 100 in 35 years between 1895 and 1930. In 2025 it ranked #1,486.

Boys
Rank in 2025#1,486
Best rank#65 (1902)
Years in the top 10035 (1895 to 1930)
Rank in its biggest decade#86 in the 1920s

📍 State-Wise Distribution

People named Cecil alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).

More people named Cecil were born in Texas than in any other state: about 3,491 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Cecil was given 2.7 times as often in Oklahoma, 2.5 times in Alabama and 2.5 times in Kentucky.

Texas 3,491
Georgia 1,999
North Carolina 1,933
Alabama 1,749
Virginia 1,655
Florida 1,650
California 1,530
Kentucky 1,456
Tennessee 1,428
Ohio 1,199
Oklahoma 1,039
South Carolina 1,025
Mississippi 984
New York 955
Louisiana 936
Illinois 917
Missouri 911
West Virginia 837
Michigan 812
Arkansas 806
Indiana 682
Pennsylvania 503
Kansas 370
Maryland 294
Arizona 284
Washington 260
Colorado 187
New Mexico 183
Iowa 170
Oregon 137
New Jersey 128
District of Columbia 117
Wisconsin 76
Maine 74
Nebraska 66
Idaho 58
Utah 35
Minnesota 35
Connecticut 21
South Dakota 20
Massachusetts 18
Montana 18
North Dakota 7
Alaska 4
Hawaii 4
Delaware 4
Wyoming 4
Vermont 3

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