Name of the Week

With 'star' and 'sky' names on the rise,
perhaps this celestial choice is due for a boost. 

Origin:

Celeste is the English form of the French name Céleste, or can be a shortened form of Celestine or Celestina.  All these names are descended from the Latin caelestis meaning "heavenly, of the sky" and ultimately from caelum "heaven, sky, abode of the gods." It is from this route that we get the word 'celestial'.

Usage:

The masculine Celestinus was developed as a Late Latin name from at least the 5th century, though notable bearers of the name are now more commonly listed by the Anglicised form, Celestine. Five popes and one anti-pope chose the name as their papal name, no doubt because of its appropriate meaning. The first of these popes, Pope Celestine I, died in 432 and was later venerated as a saint. The other popes to bear the name all lived in the 12th and 13th century; the last of whom, Pope Celestine V (1215–1296), was also canonised. The feminine form, Celestina, appears in a 15th century Spanish novel La Celestina, considered to a one of the greatest works of Spanish literature. Celestina has been used in Britain since at least the 14th century, though it has never been common. One of the earliest examples is a citation from 1349-50 in the Canterbury Freeman's Rolls of 1298-1363 in Kent. The name seems to have had some local popularity in Kent, as a handful of baptisms with the names Celestina, Celestine and Celestia can be found in Kent from 16th century onwards. By the 17th century, Celestina and Celestine were used occasionally in other neighbouring counties. The wider use of Celestina in the 18th century is perhaps thanks to Charlotte Turner Smith's well recieved novel Celestina (1791) in which the heroine of that name is considered estimable role-model.  By the 18th century, Celeste (Céleste) was used in Italy and France — and by extension Quebec and Louisiana — as both a masculine and a feminine name. Celeste can be found occasionally in Britain from the 18th century, though more commonly for children of French-born parents. The earliest examples I have been able to find is a Celeste Hill married in Middlesex in 1640 and a Susanna Celeste Gourry baptised in Sussex in 1699. In the 19th century, Celeste was still an uncommon name but it was used fairly consistently, averaging one birth per year in England and Wales. Though it was more commonly feminine in use, it was still occasionally given to boys; the surnames suggest that several were born to Italian or French families. The 1851 UK census lists 17 females named Celeste, 7 of whom were living on Jersey, particularly suggesting French influence. In 1871, 52 females and 2 males were listed with the name, the majority living in London or Jersey; by 1891 there were 37 females and 8 males with the name; and 62 females and 31 males in 1911. Most of the males with the name, it should be noted, were either Italian nationals or born to Italian parents. In the 1990s Celeste was outside the top 1000 in England and Wales with fewer than 20 births per year. In 1999 it rose to #678 (35 births) and has since had between 28 (#951 in 2005) and 41 (#793 in 2007) births each year. In 2012 Celeste ranked #955 with 38 births.  In Scotland Celeste has been registered only 1 to 4 times each year since 2005. Its rank in 2012 was #815 with 3 births.

Famous Bearers:

History:  * Céleste Bulkeley (1759–1832), a female French soldier (known as an "amazon") in the Catholic and Royal Army during the war in the Vendée. She was heralded as a heroine in 19th century France.  * Madame Céleste (1815–1882), French-born dancer and actress. * Celeste Holm (1917–2012), Oscar -winning Hollywood actress. Contemporary: * Celeste Buckingham (b.1995), Slovak singer-songwriter. Literature and Other Media: * Celeste Aida, a romanza from the first act of Verdi's opera Aida. * Celeste, the wife of Babar the Elephant. Other: * Celeste, the name of a pale blue colour.  * The Mary Celeste, the mysteriously abandoned British-American merchant brigantine.

Variants:

Celestina (Spanish, Italian), Célestine (French), Celestyna (Polish), Cölestine, Zölestine (German)

Pronunciation:

sə-LEST (UK), che-LEST-e (Italian) [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Letty, Lessy, Tess, Cherry

Sibling Names:

Evangeline     Giselle     Heloise     Rosalie     Violette     Aurora  Alexander     Edward    Caspian     Louis     Sebastian     Corbin

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Names of Roses   Golden Age Hollywood   Blue Names

 

If you like Celeste you may also like:   Estelle, Anneliese, Lisette, Isabeau, Josceline, Selene, Juliette, Letitia, Angelica, Cecily

 

Thanks to Hayley and Freya for requesting Celeste.