Cecilia vs Malikah
Cecilia and Malikahcompared 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 2025, Cecilia was ranked #172 and Malikah #4867 among girls in England and Wales.
Cecilia and Malikah over time
Cecilia and Malikah appear together in 1 published list, across 28 years of shared records. Cecilia held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Malikah in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Malikah 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.
List by list
England and Wales · Girls28 shared years, 1998–2025
Cecilia held the stronger position in 26 of those years, Malikah in 2.
Highest recorded here: Cecilia #172 in 2025, Malikah #788 in 2004.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Cecilia #172, Malikah #4867.
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 | Malikah |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | GB-ENW |
| Most recent popularity observation | England and Wales · Girls #172 (2025) | England and Wales · Girls #4867 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 82/100 |
| 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); Malikah does not have one recorded yet.
- Cecilia and Malikah both have 3 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Cecilia; Malikah doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW.
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 #172 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls
Malikah
Popularity journey
First recorded1998
First recorded at #3848 among girls in England and Wales in 1998 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1998–2025
Highest recorded position: #788 among girls in England and Wales, in 2004 (recorded 1998–2025).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #4867 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls