Priscilla
Meaning
from Latin 'priscus', 'ancient/old-fashioned'; a diminutive of Prisca, named in the New Testament
Goes by Cilla
The story
Priscilla is Latin priscus, ancient, made affectionate: a diminutive of Prisca, the form Paul actually uses for the tentmaker and teacher named throughout the New Testament. Its American curve is a slow crescendo, present from the 1890s, gathering through mid-century, and reaching its strongest band from the 1990s through the 2010s, kept warm along the way by bearers from scripture study to Priscilla Presley and the Spanish-language Priscila. Cilla stands ready as its inside-the-house short. A name whose literal meaning is old-fashioned turning its best decades a century into its American run is the kind of joke the record tells rarely and well. It carries literary posture with a soft landing, formal on the page yet easy in the kitchen. The vintage revival has been circling names of exactly this temperament, and Priscilla sits squarely in its path.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Priscilla peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
14,868 people · the #1,297 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 13,699 · median age 35
Among people named Priscilla living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 145 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Priscilla
People given the name Priscilla in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Priscilla deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Priscilla truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Priscilla fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Priscilla travels
Chinese American · A documented choice in Chinese American families.
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