Celia

  • [ SEEL-yə (English), SEE-lee-ə (English), THE-lyah (Spanish), SE-lyah (Latin American Spanish), CHE-lyah (Italian) ]
  • English, Spanish, Italian
Feminine form of the Roman family name CAELIUS. Shakespeare used it in his play 'As You Like It' (1599), which introduced the name to the English-speaking public at large. It is sometimes used as a short form of CECILIA.

CAELIUS   male   Ancient Roman
Roman family name which was derived from Latin caelum meaning "heaven".
CECILIA   female   English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German
Latinate feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from Latin caecus "blind". Saint Cecilia was a semi-legendary 2nd- or 3rd-century martyr who was sentenced to die because she refused to worship the Roman gods. After attempts to suffocate her failed, she was beheaded. She was later regarded as the patron saint of music and musicians.

Due to the popularity of the saint, the name became common in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was commonly spelled Cecily - the Latinate form Cecilia came into use in the 18th century.
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Cecelia, Cecilia, Cecily, Cicely, Shayla, Sheelagh, Sheila, Shelagh, Shelia, Shyla
EQUIVALENTS
ANCIENT ROMAN: Caecilia, Caelia
CROATIAN: Cecilija, Cila
CZECH: Cecílie, Cecilie
DANISH: Cecilia, Cecilie, Cille, Silje, Sille
DUTCH: Cécile, Cecilia, Cilla, Silke
ENGLISH: Cece, Celia, Cissy, Sissie, Sissy
FINNISH: Cecilia, Silja
FRENCH: Cécile
GERMAN: Cäcilia, Cäcilie, Caecilia, Cecilia, Silke, Zilla
HUNGARIAN: Cecília, Cili
IRISH: Sheila, Síle
ITALIAN: Celia
NORWEGIAN: Cecilia, Cecilie, Silje
POLISH: Cecylia
PORTUGUESE: Cecília, Célia
RUSSIAN: Tsetsiliya
SCOTTISH: Sìleas
SLOVAK: Cecília
SLOVENE: Cecilija, Cila, Cilka
SPANISH: Celia
SWEDISH: Cecilia, Cilla
MASCULINE FORMS
ANCIENT ROMAN: Caecilius, Caelius
ENGLISH: Cecil
ITALIAN: Cecilio, Celio
PORTUGUESE: Cecilio, Celio
SPANISH: Cecilio, Celio
OTHER FORMS
ANCIENT ROMAN: Caelina, Caelinus
ENGLISH: Celinda, Salena, Salina, Selina
FRENCH: Céline
ITALIAN: Celino
SPANISH: Celino, Maricela