Boys' name · peaked in 1902
Cecil name popularity since 1925
75,652 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Cecil (3.4% girls, 96.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1945 or earlier, so the typical Cecil is about 81 years old in 2026. Cecil peaked in 1902 as the #65 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 75,652
- Named Cecil, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1902
- #65 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,486 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 96.6% boys
- 2,578 girls · 73,074 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 3.72× its national share
Peak year is the year Cecil made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Cecil births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1926. Measured as a share of all babies, Cecil peaked earlier, in 1902.
- Steepest fall: Between 1980 and 1985, Cecil's share of baby boys fell by 37%, from 1 in 4,380 to 1 in 6,950.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Cecil's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Cecil.
Decade by decade
Babies named Cecil in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 616 | 10,723 | – |
| 1930s | 771 | 16,482 | #109 |
| 1940s | 555 | 14,837 | #152 |
| 1950s | 284 | 12,003 | #205 |
| 1960s | 131 | 7,430 | #277 |
| 1970s | 74 | 4,181 | #417 |
| 1980s | 92 | 2,930 | #533 |
| 1990s | 26 | 1,700 | #913 |
| 2000s | 19 | 1,094 | #1,382 |
| 2010s | 5 | 1,011 | #1,468 |
| 2020–25 | 5 | 683 | #1,486 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.0% of babies named Cecil from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Cecil is most popular
The index compares Cecil's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Cecil.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 3.72× | 2,323 |
| Alabama | 3.32× | 4,173 |
| Kentucky | 3.17× | 3,766 |
| Oklahoma | 3.16× | 2,924 |
| Arkansas | 3.11× | 2,268 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Cecil's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Cecil.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Cecil (1902).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data