Cecily

Cecily is an English form in the Cecilia name family, ultimately connected with the Roman family name Caecilius and a word meaning “blind.” The old surname meaning is a historical linguistic fact, not a prediction about a child. Cicely is a close spelling relative, while Cecilia preserves the longer form.

Its associations span history and literature: Cecily Neville was the mother of Richard III, and Oscar Wilde used Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Earnest. Beatrix Potter’s Cecily Parsley provides another literary connection. Despite the similar opening, Celestia comes from a different root, so it is a stylistic comparison rather than an etymological sister. Cecily’s own family history is Roman and later English.