Cecilia

The Roman Caecilius clan may have carried their surname from caecus — blind — though the connection is old enough that certainty is unavailable. What is certain is Saint Cecilia, the second-century martyr who, according to tradition, sang hymns to God as she was being executed, and who became, improbably, the patron saint of music. The name has been sung back ever since: through Purcell, through the Cecilia of Catholic choral tradition, through Simon and Garfunkel's 1970 hit, through countless settings of the saint's day mass.

Cecilia has hovered in the U.S. top 300 for most of the twentieth century and climbed into the top 150 in the 2010s as parents moved toward longer, melodic classical names with real syllable weight. It ranks 123 now, a name that is clearly in the middle of its ascent rather than at the top. The musical association has given it a cultural texture that few names can claim: it is literally a name people sing.

Four syllables — se-SEEL-ee-a — with the long middle note and the bright open ending give it something operatic. Nicknames — Cece, Celia, Cissy — offer daily alternatives. It pairs naturally with Margaret, Eliza, or Amara as a sibling, the same classical register slightly different key. Cecilia Jane, Cecilia Rose, Cecilia Wren. The girl this name suits tends to hear the music in things that other people experience as noise.