Cecil comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, which was derived from the Latin caecus and means "blind"; in Britain it was also used as an anglicized form of the Welsh Seisyllt. The film director Cecil B. DeMille made it a familiar American name in the early 20th century. Cecil has stayed outside the top 1000 since 2000, when it ranked number 1083, and holds number 1486 in 2025.