Cecil

Meaning and origin

Cecil comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, which derives from the Latin word caecus, meaning “blind.” It belongs to the same historical name family as Cecilia, Cecily, and Cicely, with a much shorter English form than its Roman ancestor.

Cecil was used as a given name in medieval England, but its nineteenth-century revival had another influence: the prominent Cecil family. Their surname had been established since the sixteenth century and inspired parents to use Cecil in their honor.

That surname followed a different route from the older given name. It came from Welsh Seisyll, ultimately from the Roman name Sextilius and the Latin name Sextus, meaning “sixth.” Cecil’s history therefore brings together an old given name associated with Caecilius and a later fashion for honoring a family whose similar-looking surname had separate roots.

Pronunciation and related names

Cecil has two familiar English pronunciations: SEE-sul and SES-ul. Both have two syllables, with the emphasis at the beginning. The difference lies in the first vowel rather than the rhythm of the name.

Cecilia, Cecelia, Cecily, and Cicely are feminine relatives. Cecilio is used in Italian and Spanish, while Cecílio is a Portuguese form. These longer forms retain more of the sound and structure of the Roman name from which Cecil developed.

Cecil B. DeMille and cinema

Producer and director Cecil B. DeMille gave the name a lasting association with Hollywood spectacle. His 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth centers on the difficulties of keeping a circus running, with rival performers, dangerous acts, and a train wreck shaping the story.

The cast included Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, and James Stewart. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1953 ceremony, placing DeMille’s name at the center of one of the major film events of that year.

He also produced and directed the 1956 film The Ten Commandments, whose cast included Heston, Anne Baxter, and Yul Brynner. Its story follows Moses from his life as a prince of Egypt toward the liberation of the Hebrew people. The two films connect Cecil with very different settings, from a traveling circus to a biblical epic.

Popularity in the United States

Cecil was much more common for American boys in the early twentieth century than it is today. Its best rank was number 65 in 1902, and its highest annual count came in 1920, when 2,459 boys received the name.

It ranked number 1,468 in 2015, number 1,647 in 2020, and number 1,486 in 2025. Historical records also include girls named Cecil, although boys account for the much larger share of its American use.

How popular is Cecil?

In 2025, Cecil ranked #1,486 among boys in the United States, with 119 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1880; its largest annual count was 2,459 in 1920. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.