Cecil
SEE-sil
A classic name from a Latin word meaning “blind,” later used as a refined English name for boys and, by extension, girls.
Meaning
Cecil is traditionally explained as coming from the Latin name Cecilius or Caecilius, ultimately from cæcus, meaning “blind.” The excerpts also show it as a male name in English, with related forms spreading into French and Irish usage; later, Cecilia and Cecily became the feminine relatives. In the older naming books, the root meaning is repeated plainly as “blind.”
Origin
LatinEnglishFrenchIrishmasculine
Fun fact
The excerpts note that in Ireland, Norman settlers introduced the name and it became Sighile.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.