NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Celeste

Feminine name of Latin origin meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Celeste is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Celeste popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #467, with 88 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2023, with 90 births.

This profile covers 1,244 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 98% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,287 living people in the UK are called Celeste. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Celeste ranked #467 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 88 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2023, when 90 girls were registered as Celeste.
  • Celeste ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.
  • About 1,287 living people in the UK are estimated to have Celeste as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#467

2024

Births in 2024

88

Latest year

Peak year

2023

90 births

Estimated living

1,287

2026

Meaning

What does Celeste mean?

The name Celeste finds its origins in the Latin word 'caelestis', which translates to 'heavenly' or 'celestial'. It is derived from the Latin word 'caelum', meaning 'sky' or 'heaven'. The name's roots can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was used to refer to deities or celestial beings associated with the heavens.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Celeste can be found in the writings of the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, who lived from 4 BC to 65 AD. He used the term 'caelestis' to describe the celestial realm and the heavenly bodies.

In the Christian tradition, the name Celeste gained popularity as a name for saints and martyrs. One notable example is Saint Celeste, a third-century Roman martyr who was executed during the reign of Emperor Decius in 250 AD for her Christian faith.

The name Celeste has been borne by several notable historical figures throughout the centuries. One prominent example is Celeste Galicia Valdovinos, a Mexican revolutionary who fought alongside Emiliano Zapata during the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. She was born in 1888 and played a crucial role in the revolutionary movement.

Another famous bearer of the name was Celeste Holm, an American actress and singer who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1947 film "Gentleman's Agreement". She was born in 1917 and had a successful career in both films and on Broadway.

Celeste Albaret, born in 1891, was a French housekeeper and confidante of the writer Marcel Proust. She played a pivotal role in preserving Proust's legacy by overseeing the publication of his unfinished works after his death.

The name Celeste also has connections to the world of astronomy. Celeste Tombaugh, born in 1927, was the wife of Clyde Tombaugh, the American astronomer who discovered the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930. She played a significant role in supporting her husband's astronomical work.

Celeste Mendoza, born in 1989, is a contemporary American singer-songwriter and musician known for her fusion of pop, R&B, and soul genres. She has gained recognition for her powerful vocals and emotional songwriting.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Celeste over time

The chart below shows babies named Celeste registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Celeste, the clearest high point is 2023. The latest England and Wales figure is 88 births in 2024, compared with 90 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Celeste
023456890199620102024

Decades

Celeste by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Celeste was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #528 381 5
2010s #870 445 10
2000s #863 323 10
1990s #948 95 4

Geography

Where Celeste is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Celeste. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Celeste ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.

Northern Ireland
3
Scotland
3

Across the UK

Celeste in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#790 in 2024

12 years of NRS records, 47 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#407 in 2024

1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Celeste

  • Celeste Dandeker

    choreographer

    Dancer and founder of Candoco dance company

    1950-

  • Celeste Radloff

    painter

    British artist (1930–1994)

    1930-1994

  • Celeste Clericetti

    architect; university teacher

    author (1835-1887)

    1835-1887

  • Celeste Dring

    actor; television actor; film actor

    English actress and writer

Related

Names similar to Celeste

FAQ

Celeste: questions and answers

How popular is the name Celeste in the UK right now?

In 2024, Celeste was ranked #467 for girls in England and Wales, with 88 births registered.

When was Celeste most popular?

The peak year on record was 2023, with 90 babies registered as Celeste in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Celeste?

Feminine name of Latin origin meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".

How many people are called Celeste in the UK?

A total of 1,244 babies have been registered as Celeste across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 47 more in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Celeste most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Celeste ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #407 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.