Cecil

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Cecil is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name13K records spelled Cecil3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Cécil, Cècil

• Arabic given name4.0K records spelled Cecil5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Egypt, Palestine, Saudi Arabia

  Also written Cécil, Čėćĩl, Cëçíl

• Hindi given name3.2K records spelled Cecil3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Philippines

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Cécil

• Polish given name1.9K records spelled Cecil2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Cécil

74 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Cecil is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, ‘little blind one’; borne by a St Cecil mentioned in the Roman Martyrology.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, from OW Seisill, said to derive from Latin Caedlius; first attested Saissil 1066 DB (He).

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• ently a mutilated form of the L name Sextilius, a deriv. of Sextus ‘Sixth’ (from sex six; cf. Six). The spelling has, however, been modified as a result of folk etymological association with the L name C(a)ecilius, a deriv. of caecus blind. Vars.: Saycell, Seisill.

  as a name·A dictionary of surnames

• In English, J. E. A. R., English statesman

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, county, MD

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Cecil John Rhodesb. 1853ZABritish businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa (1853-1902)
• Arthur Cecil Pigoub. 1877GBBritish economist (1877-1959)
• Cecil B. DeMilleb. 1881USAmerican film director, producer and actor (1881–1959)
• Cecil Kellawayb. 1890ZASouth African actor (1890–1973)
• Cecil Parkerb. 1897GBactor (1897-1971)
• Cecil Scott Foresterb. 1899GBBritish novelist, "Hornblower" author (1899–1966)
• C. F. Powellb. 1903GBnot in their usual nameBritish physicist
• Cecil Day-Lewisb. 1904GBIrish-born British poet (1904–1972)
• Tony Richardsonb. 1928GBnot in their usual nameEnglish theatre and film director and producer (1928-1991)
• Boris Kodjoeb. 1973USnot in their usual nameGerman actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 689 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Cecil?

We estimate roughly 37 thousand people bear Cecil (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Cecil have the most bearers?

We estimate about 36 thousand people bear Cecil in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled cecil.

Where is Cecil most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Cecil is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 1.4 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Cecil compared with other names?

In the United States, Cecil is the 589th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Cecil a male or female name?

Cecil is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Cecil mean?

Recorded meaning: from the Old Welsh male personal name Seisyllt, probably ultimately from Latin Sextilius, derivative of Sextus, literally 'sixth(-born)'