Cecilia

/sɪˈsiːli.ə/

//sɪˈsiːli.ə// name

"cecilia" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Cecilia” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,873. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,873
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female given name from Latin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cecilia · Cecilia · English

Cecilia · rank #20,873 · 9 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,873
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH ceases

Nearest frequency peer: ceases (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Cecilia”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Cecilia” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Cecilia vs Celia
71% similar
Cecilia vs cilia
71% similar
Cecilia vs Cecily
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Cecilia
PropertyValue
HeadwordCecilia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/sɪˈsiːli.ə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#20,873
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Cecilia”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Cecilialands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ceases” (#20,872), “Cassandra” (#20,871), “cessation” (#20,875). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Cecilia” is #20,873. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Cecilia (IPA /sɪˈsiːli.ə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #20,873 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A female given name from Latin.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Cecilia, with forms such as "ccecilia", "cceilia", and "ceccilia". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Celia", "cilia", "Cecily", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila. The correct English form is Cecilia, spelled C-E-C-I-L-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female given name from Latin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Cecilia appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hark how the flutes and trumpets raise / At bright Cecilia's name, their lays!
  2. ‘Sissy is not a name,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Don’t call yourself Sissy. Call yourself Cecilia.’ ‘It’s father as calls me Sissy, sir,’ returned the young girl in a trembling voice, and with another curtsey. ‘Then he has no business to do it,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Tell him he mustn’t. Cecilia Jupe. Let me see. What is your father?’

Etymology

From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccecilia
  • cceilia
  • ceccilia
  • ceciila
  • cecilai
  • cecillia
  • cecliia
  • ceiclia
  • eccilia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Cecilia - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccecilia1cceilia2ceccilia1ceciila2cecilai2cecillia1cecliia2ceiclia2
Edit distance from "Cecilia"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Cecilia"?
"Cecilia" is spelled C-E-C-I-L-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪˈsiːli.ə/.
What does "Cecilia" mean?
As a proper noun, "Cecilia" means: A female given name from Latin.
What words are commonly confused with "Cecilia"?
"Cecilia" is commonly confused with "Celia", "cilia", "Cecily". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Cecilia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Cecilia" is /sɪˈsiːli.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Cecilia"?
From Latin Caecilia, feminine form of Caecilius, a Roman family name possibly derived from the byname caecus (“blind”). Popularized by Saint Cecilia, third century Roman martyr, the patron saint of music. Doublet of Sheila. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Cecilia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list