Pricilla
Feminine · “Latin "ancient”
In the Acts of the Apostles, Priscilla is usually named before her husband. Ancient convention put the more prominent person first, and Luke and Paul between them name her ahead of Aquila four times out of six — which readers have taken as evidence that she was the senior teacher.
How old is the name Pricilla?
Pricilla first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Pricilla alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 3,900 people named Pricilla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pricilla most popular?
Pricilla peaked in 1886, reaching #828 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 7,057 places below that high. See the whole 1886 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From priscus to Pricilla
The story of Pricilla
Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers who had been expelled from Rome under Claudius, met Paul at Corinth, traveled with him, and are described in Acts as taking the preacher Apollos aside and explaining the way of God to him more accurately. That is teaching, and the text does not qualify it. The name order is the detail commentators return to: in Greek and Latin usage the first-named of a couple was normally the one with higher standing, and Priscilla comes first in most of the references. Some later manuscripts reverse the order, which is itself evidence that scribes noticed. The American figures for Pricilla peak in 1886.
Meaning
Latin "ancient, venerable", as a diminutive
From priscus, ancient or belonging to former times, with the diminutive -illa — so a little old one, presumably affectionate. Prisca is the shorter form and appears in Paul's letters; Priscilla is the diminutive and appears in Acts. Pricilla with a single s is an American respelling; the sound is unchanged.
How the name formed
- priscus
- Prisca
- Priscilla
- Pricilla
Related forms: Priscilla · Priscila · Priscilla
Pronouncing Pricilla
prih-SIL-uh
Three syllables, stress on the second. Pricilla and Priscilla are pronounced identically; the missing s changes nothing audible.
Nicknames for Pricilla
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 1994114 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #828reached in 1886
- Change vs 2023
- −7.1%13 in 2025, from 14
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Pricilla in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Priscilla in English — spelling variant
- Priscila in Spanish — same name
- Priscilla in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Pricillas among us
people named Pricilla are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Pricilla
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Pricilla
- #7885
- Pricilla on the 2025 chart
- #430
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Pricilla went to 13 girls in 2025, but Priscilla, Priscila and Pricila are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 658, which makes it the 430th most-given girls’ name of the year — 7,455 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 2,443 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 123,636 for Pricilla itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Pricilla sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Pricilla beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Pricilla in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Latin meaning is settled and the diminutive is affectionate.
- Cilla is a clean short form.
- It carries a documented and unusually prominent early Christian figure.
- Priscilla is the standard spelling and will be substituted constantly.
- The obvious short form Prissy has a negative English sense.
- The 1880s peak dates a bearer strongly.
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Pricilla
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Pricillas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,900 people named Pricilla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Pricilla?
- Pricilla is one of 4 recorded spellings. Priscilla is the more common one — 555 births in 2025 against 13 for Pricilla.
- How popular is the name Pricilla in 2025?
- Pricilla ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Pricilla?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Pricilla — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Pricilla with classmates?
- Pricilla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Pricilla
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pricilla? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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