Priscilla

What Priscilla means

Means “former, ancient, old-fashioned”

Feminine diminutive form of a Roman cognomen Prīscus, from Latin prīscus (“former, ancient, old-fashioned”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Priscilla” (revision 93673208), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Priscilla?

US: Steady: #501 in 2015, #544 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1452 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1940, when 1,970 girls got the name (#127 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,896 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,523 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 5,964 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (1.09 per 1,000 girls), AR (0.85 per 1,000 girls), AZ (0.82 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Priscilla is #544 in the US and #667 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Priscilla were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Priscila84 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Priscilla

Girls

• Amanda#493“to love”^*
• Mary#125Same root as Miriam, possibly meaning “bitter”^*
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Laura#379“laurel tree”^*
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*

For a brother

• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*
• Stephen#383“crown, wreath”^*
• Paul#262“small”^*
• Michael#21“who is like God?”^*
• Adam#101“earth, man, soil, light brown”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Priscilla’s. Rank is US 2025.