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Celia

Celia (SEEL-yah) is from Latin caelum, meaning "heaven," from the name Caelia, a feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius. It is not to be mistaken for Cecelia/Cecilia, although it is used as a nickname or short form for both. Shakespeare introduced Celia to the world via As You Like It in 1599. In the 1940's actress Celia Johnson popularized it once more. In 2016 Celia ranked at #837, with 339 girls given the name that year. That is much lower than its 2001 rank of #594, but it has always been used, and always been mildly popular, since 1880. It is very popular in France and Spain, but the French form Celie has ranked twice as well - once in 1880 and once in 1887.

Since Shakespeare's use of Celia there have been many more appearances in literature, including works by Ben Johnson, George Eliot, T.S. Eliot, Lionel Shriver, and more recently as the heroine of The Night Circus. Many real-life Celia's have made their way through history as well, including singer Celia Cruz, and actresses Celia Weston, Celia Adler, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Celia Imrie. Celia appears in many TV shows and movies as well. Celia Hammond was a 60's model and animal rights activist.
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