View Message

You say that Celia feels incomplete to you as a first name, but you'd use it as a nickname for Cecilia, which indicates that you must like Celia to some degree.

---

I once had the same problem with Lucy. I loved Lucy, but didn't like Lucille. Lucy felt incomplete to me as a full name. I kept thinking that it had to be a nickname for Lucille. So I kept thinking that I'd never use it, because I don't like Lucille and I wouldn't use a name that I don't like just to get to the nickname.

---

Then it was pointed out to me that Lucy is indeed a legitimate name in its own right. It didn't start out as a nickname for Lucille. Lucy is English for Lucia, the feminine form of Lucius, meaning "light". Lucille is from Lucilla, a diminutive of Lucia. Lucy actually predates Lucille, and Lucille, although it's longer and sounds more formal, actually comes from a diminutive, which Lucy does not.

---

In the case of Celia and Cecilia, the two names are actually unrelated, so Celia certainly stands as a name in its own right. Celia is the feminine form of the Roman family name Caelius, from Caelum, and means "heaven". Cecilia is from the Roman family name Caecilius, from Caecus, meaning "blind". There's no need to see Celia as incomplete.

---

Of course, you say that Celia "feels" incomplete, and facts don't always change feelings, so this might not change anything for you. But I know that in my case, facts did change how I felt about Lucy, so I just wanted to throw this out there. Also, I want to encourage the use of Celia as opposed to Cecile or Cecilia, just because I like it more.