Cecilie

 Cecilie is the Danish and Norwegian form of Cecilia, both of which are derived from the Latin Caecilía, itself a feminine form of the Old Roman family name Caecilius. Caecilius, in turn, comes from the Latin word “caecus” meaning “blind” (most likely developed as a byname for a Roman plebeian family who dated back to the 5th century BC).  The Plebs were free landowning Roman citizens and fell somewhere between the slaves and the elite Patricians. The family traced their ancestry to a Roman mythological figure, Caeculus (“little blind boy”), who was a son of Vulcan, god of fire. According to Ancient Roman legend, Caeculus was born of Vulcan’s spark, found on a hearth and raised among shepherds. The boy showed mastery over fire, but the smoke damaged his eyes which caused them to be smaller than normal (hence his moniker: little blind one). Caeculus is also credited with the founding of Praeneste, an ancient city east of Rome. An alternative tradition claimed that the Caecilii were descended from Caecas, who had accompanied Aeneas to Italy after the Greeks sacked Troy. By the 3rd century BC, a member of the Caecilius family obtained consulship (the highest elected office in the Roman Republic) and so brought more prominence to the family within Old Roman society. 

 

The names Cecilia and Cecilie survived through the Middle Ages not because of the Ancient Roman family name, but rather in homage to a popular 2nd century saint named Cecilia (Latin: Sancta Caecilia). Cecilia refused to worship the Roman gods during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (then a crime in the pre-Christian Roman Empire), and so was martyred after being tortured, suffocated and finally beheaded. She is the patron saint of music and musicians because as she lay dying she was said to be singing to God. As with many early saints, Cecilia became quite legendary in the Middle Ages and so her name was given to children as a protective measure.