Cecilia vs Nanna
Cecilia and Nannacompared 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.
Norway · Girls
In 2025, Cecilia was ranked #496 and Nanna #484 among girls in Norway.
Cecilia and Nanna over time
Cecilia and Nanna appear together in 1 published list, across 56 years of shared records. Cecilia held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Nanna in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Nanna 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 Nanna changed places 14 times in Norway · Girls between 1951 and 2025, ending at #496 and #484.
- Longest-running competitions
Cecilia and Nanna were both ranked in Norway · Girls for 56 years, from 1951 to 2025, ending at #496 and #484.
List by list
Norway · Girls56 shared years, 1951–2025
Cecilia held the stronger position in 42 of those years, Nanna in 14.
Highest recorded here: Cecilia #228 in 2008, Nanna #233 in 1996.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Cecilia #496, Nanna #484.
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 | Nanna |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | England and Wales · Girls #172 (2025) | Norway · Girls #484 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 94/100 |
| 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); Nanna does not have one recorded yet.
- Cecilia has 3 syllables, compared with 2 for Nanna.
- A meaning is recorded for Cecilia; Nanna doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
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
Nanna
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #307 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #233 among girls in Norway, in 1996 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #484 among girls in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Girls