Cecilia vs Doreen
Cecilia and Doreencompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
England and Wales · Girls
In 2024, Cecilia was ranked #216 and Doreen #5891 among girls in England and Wales.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
In 1993, Cecilia was ranked #415 and Doreen #516 among girls in Republic of Ireland.
Cecilia and Doreen over time
Cecilia and Doreen appear together in 2 published lists, across 46 years of shared records. Neither was ahead in more lists than the other.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Doreen reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Cecilia in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Cecilia and Doreen changed places 8 times in Republic of Ireland · Girls between 1964 and 1993, ending at #415 and #516.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Republic of Ireland · Girls within 2 years — Cecilia #165 in 1965, Doreen #161 in 1965.
List by list
Republic of Ireland · Girls29 shared years, 1964–1993
Cecilia held the stronger position in 5 of those years, Doreen in 22.
Highest recorded here: Cecilia #165 in 1965, Doreen #161 in 1965.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 1993: Cecilia #415, Doreen #516.
England and Wales · Girls17 shared years, 1996–2024
Cecilia held the stronger position in 17 of those years, Doreen in 0.
Highest recorded here: Cecilia #216 in 2024, Doreen #1979 in 1998.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Cecilia #216, Doreen #5891.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Cecilia | Doreen |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Editorially researched profile | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | female | female |
| Meaning | Traditionally linked to the Latin word for 'blind', via the Roman family name Caecilius it derives from — a family-name etymology rather than a poetic or virtue meaning. | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Latin, feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | /sɛˈsiːliə/ | Not yet recorded |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO | GB-ENW, IE |
| Most recent popularity observation | Republic of Ireland · Girls #325 (2025) | England and Wales · Girls #5891 (2024) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 88/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 60/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Cecilia has a recorded origin (Latin, feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius); Doreen does not have one recorded yet.
- Cecilia has 3 syllables, compared with 2 for Doreen.
- A meaning is recorded for Cecilia; Doreen doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, IE.
How each name got here
Cecilia
Popularity journey
First recorded1948
First recorded at #361 among girls in Norway in 1948 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #165 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #496 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls
Doreen
Popularity journey
First recorded1964
First recorded at #171 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1964–2001
Highest recorded position: #161 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1964–2001).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls