Quick Facts
Biography
Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born that year), and the United States, where it has ranked among the top 500 names for girls for more than 100 years. It also ranked among the top 100 names for girls born in Sweden in the early years of the 21st century, and was formerly popular in France.
The name "Cecilia" applied generally to Roman women who belonged to the plebeian clan of the Caecilii. Legends and hagiographies, mistaking it for a personal name, suggest fanciful etymologies. Among those cited by Chaucer in "The Second Nun's Tale" are: lily of heaven, the way for the blind, contemplation of heaven and the active life, as if lacking in blindness, and a heaven for people to gaze upon.
People
- Saint Cecilia, 2nd century virgin martyr and patron Saint of musicians and Church music
- Princess Cecilia of Sweden (1540–1627)
- Princess Cecilia of Sweden (1807–1844)
- Cecilia of Normandy (died 1126), thought to be the daughter of William the Conqueror
- Cecilia (Norwegian singer) (born 1967)
- Cecilia (royal mistress), royal mistress of Eric of Pomerania, king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
- Cecilia (Spanish singer) (1948–1976)
- Cécilia Attias (born 1957), former First Lady of France, ex-wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy
- Cecilia Bartoli (born 1966), Italian mezzo-soprano
- Cecilia Beaux (1855–1942), American society portrait painter
- Cecilia Bolocco (born 1965), Chilean television entertainer, former Miss Universe 1987 and former wife of ex-Argentine president Carlos Menem
- Cecilia Bowes-Lyon (1862–1938), British aristocrat and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II
- Cecilia LW Chan, Chinese social scientist
- Cecilia Cheung (born 1980), Hong Kong singer and actress
- Cecilia Colledge (1920–2008), British figure skater
- Cecilia Curbelo (born 1975), Uruguayan writer
- Cecilia Gallerani (1473–1536), favourite and most celebrated mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan
- Cecilia Gasdia (born 1960), Italian soprano
- Cecilia Gillie (1907–1996), English radio executive
- Cecilia Grierson (1859–1934), Argentine physician and activist
- Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden (fl. 1193), Queen Consort of King Canute I of Sweden
- Cecilia Keaveney (born 1968), Irish politician
- Cecilia Malmström (born 1968), Swedish politician
- Cecilia Morel (born 1954), Chilean First Lady, wife of President Sebastián Piñera
- Cecilia Muñoz (born 1962), Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House
- Cecilia Noël (born c. 1960s), wife and co-performer of Men at Work singer Colin Hay
- Cecilia Nilsson (athlete) (born 1979), Swedish hammer thrower
- Cecilia Pantoja (born 1943), better known as Cecilia, Chilean singer songwriter
- Cecilia Parker (1914–1993), Canadian actress
- Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900–1979), English-American astronomer
- Cecilia Suárez (born 1971), Mexican actress
- Cecilia Tan (born 1967), American writer
- Cecilia Young (1712–1789), English soprano
