Cecilia vs Hanora
Cecilia and Hanoracompared 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.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
In 2020, Cecilia was ranked #495 and Hanora #834 among girls in Republic of Ireland.
Cecilia and Hanora over time
Cecilia and Hanora appear together in 1 published list, across 24 years of shared records. Cecilia held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Hanora in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Hanora 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 Hanora changed places 13 times in Republic of Ireland · Girls between 1964 and 2020, ending at #495 and #834.
- Closest over the longest run
Across 24 shared years in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Cecilia and Hanora averaged 58.3 places apart, ending at #495 and #834.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Republic of Ireland · Girls within 2 years — Cecilia #165 in 1965, Hanora #164 in 1964.
List by list
Republic of Ireland · Girls24 shared years, 1964–2020
Cecilia held the stronger position in 12 of those years, Hanora in 9.
Highest recorded here: Cecilia #165 in 1965, Hanora #164 in 1964.
The order changed in 2020: Cecilia moved ahead. In 2019 they stood at #894 and #894; by 2020 that had become #495 and #834.
Most recent shared year, 2020: Cecilia #495, Hanora #834.
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 | Hanora |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 3 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO | IE |
| Most recent popularity observation | Republic of Ireland · Girls #325 (2025) | Republic of Ireland · Girls #834 (2020) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 88/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 40/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Cecilia has a recorded origin (Latin, feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius); Hanora does not have one recorded yet.
- Cecilia and Hanora both have 3 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Cecilia; Hanora doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in 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
Hanora
Popularity journey
First recorded1964
First recorded at #164 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 recorded1964–2020
Highest recorded position: #164 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2020).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2020
Most recently recorded at #834 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2020.
Republic of Ireland · Girls