Cecily as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Cecily

What is the meaning of the name Cecily ?

The baby name Cecily is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈsɛsɪli/ (SESS-ih-lee); also /ˈsiːsɪli/ (SEE-sih-lee).

Cecily is Latin in Origin.

Cecily is the medieval English form of Cecilia, from the Late Latin Caecilia, the feminine of the Roman family name Caecilius, ultimately from caecus, “blind.” Through the cult of Saint Cecilia, patron of music, the name gained Christian resonance; Cecily emerged as the vernacular English rendering after the Norman Conquest and persisted in parish records for centuries.

Common in late medieval and Tudor England, it was borne by Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, and by her granddaughter Cecily of York. The name enjoyed a genteel revival in the 19th century and retains a vintage, literary feel - memorably given to Cecily Cardew in Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Close forms include Cicely (English), Cecilie (Scandinavian), Cécile (French), Cecília (Portuguese/Hungarian), Cecilija (Slavic), and the pan-European Cecilia; the masculine cognate is Cecil. Nicknames range from Cece/Ceci and Celie to Cissy or Sissy.