Cecil

Where Cecil comes from

From Latin Caecilius, a Roman family name derived from caecus (“blind”). The surname has absorbed the Old Welsh Seisyllt, from Latin Sextilius, from Sextus.
— Wiktionary's entry for Cecil
  • Latin
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1853
    Cecil John Rhodes born
    British businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #248 among boys — 45 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1902
    Peak, #65
    354 babies named Cecil — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1903
    Cecil Frank Powell born
    British physicist
  5. 1994
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #840.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name from Latin.
  • A male given name from Latin.
  • A female given name from Latin.
Namesakes
  • Cecil John Rhodes · British businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa, 1853–1902
  • Cecil Frank Powell · British physicist, 1903–1969
  • Cecil B. DeMille · American film director, producer and actor, 1881–1959
  • Cecil Beaton · British photographer, designer, socialite, writer, 1904–1980
  • Cecil Day-Lewis · Irish-born British poet, 1904–1972

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.