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Camelia
Pronounced kah-MEEL-yah /kɑˈmil.jɑ/High
Meaning: The camellia flower; single-l spelling used in Spanish and Romanian, from the genus Linnaeus named for botanist Georg Joseph KamelHigh
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Camelia is the Spanish and Romanian spelling of Camellia, the flower genus Linnaeus named in 1753 for Georg Joseph Kamel, a Jesuit missionary botanist in the Philippines. The flower's romantic fame owes much to Dumas's The Lady of the Camellias, the novel behind La Traviata.
As a given name Camelia thrives particularly in Romania and across the Spanish-speaking world; English speakers usually double the l. In the U.S. this spelling is rare, with the same hothouse elegance and the friendly nickname Cami or Lia.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Camelia mean?
Camelia is the camellia flower — a genus named for the missionary botanist Georg Joseph Kamel.
How do you pronounce Camelia?
It's said kah-MEEL-yah /kɑˈmil.jɑ/ — three syllables, stress on the second.
Is Camelia a boy or girl name?
Camelia is a girl's name.
How popular is Camelia?
Camelia is a rare spelling in the U.S., familiar in Romanian and Spanish-speaking families.