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love the -lius ending on names but the ae always looks a but weird to me. I think Celius pronounced sellius looks nicer but that s just me its definitely not a bad name by any means

Caeli, Lesbia nostra, Lesbia illa

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"Caelius, our Lesbia, that Lesbia" (the first line of Catullus 58)

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Honestly, I love Marcus Caelius Rufus as a historical figure - he was bold, charming, and occasionally hilarious as hell, and I think Steven Saylor hit the nail on the head describing him as "quicksilver". Caelius was a brilliant enough orator to defeat Cicero in court, had an affair with Catullus' lover Clodia (as Catullus bemoans in his poetry!), and died in his thirties in an opportunistic rebellion against Caesar. So I definitely have a certain fondness for the name, and I think it has a nice sound to it, although I don't think it's particularly useable on a 21st century child.

I really like it! I presume it’s Ancient Roman?

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My instinct is to prn it as kay-lee-us.

And yet the fem version is SEEleeuh, not KYleeuh or KAYleeuh! I suspect that if Caelius were to be used, the pronunciation would settle into something between SEEleeus and SIreeus.

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And, they both - being adjectives - mean 'heavenly' in the sense of 'belonging or relating to heaven'.

This message was edited 9/23/2020, 12:51 AM

I like kay-lee-us. I've met a Cael before and I think his name would have been cooler if it was short for Caelius!
I also like Caelia / Caeliana for a girl version.

It's ok