Cecily

Where Cecily comes from

The dictionaries list Cecily as a given name — a female given name from Latin, from the medieval vernacular form of Cecilia — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • Latin
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1415
    Cecily Neville, Duchess of York born
    English noblewoman
  2. 1911
    First appearance
    #2,463 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1970
    Cecily von Ziegesar born
    American writer
  4. 1989
    Peak, #497
    472 babies named Cecily — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1991
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #991.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Latin, from the medieval vernacular form of Cecilia.
Namesakes
  • Cecily Neville, Duchess of York · English noblewoman, 1415–1495
  • Cecily von Ziegesar · American writer, born 1970
  • Cecily Strong · American actress, born 1984
  • Cecily Adams · American actress, 1958–2004
  • Cecily Brown · British artist, born 1969

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.