Priscila
Feminine · “ancient”
Priscila is Priscilla — a Latin diminutive of 'ancient' — and Paul greets her before her husband, which was unusual enough to be noticed.
How old is the name Priscila?
Priscila first appears in US birth records in 1964 — 61 years ago. The typical Priscila alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 4,800 people named Priscila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Priscila most popular?
Priscila peaked in 2002, reaching #880 nationally. Today it ranks #2194, 1,314 places below that high. See the whole 2002 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From priscus to Priscila
The story of Priscila
Priscilla and Aquila are a couple who work with Paul, and the New Testament usually names her first — which commentators from antiquity onward have found worth remarking on. Some have proposed her as the author of Hebrews. Priscila is the Spanish spelling and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
ancient, venerable
From the Latin Priscilla, a diminutive of Prisca, from priscus, 'ancient' or 'of former times'. The same root gives 'pristine'. Priscila is the Spanish and Portuguese spelling with one l. The Latin is ordinary and the reading undisputed.
How the name formed
- priscus
- Priscilla
- Priscila
Related forms: Priscila · Priscila · Priscilla
Pronouncing Priscila
pree-SEE-lah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. English Priscilla is prih-SIL-uh.
Nicknames for Priscila
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
- 1964
- Most girls named
- 2002257 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #880reached in 2002
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%84 in 2025, from 70
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.
Priscila in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Priscila in Spanish — same name
- Priscila in Portuguese — same name
- Priscilla in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Priscilas among us
people named Priscila are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 19,134 born in 2025 was named Priscila
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Priscila
- #2194
- Priscila on the 2025 chart
- #430
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Priscila went to 84 girls in 2025, but Priscilla, Pricilla 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 — 1,764 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 2,443 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 19,134 for Priscila 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
The Angelic test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Priscila's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Angelic climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Angelic's path sketches the road Priscila is walking now.
Priscila 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
Where Priscila is headed
Priscila should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Priscila beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Priscila in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the New Testament names her before her husband is a first-rate detail.
- That 'pristine' comes from the same root is a genuinely good connection.
- Pris is available as a short form with a real record.
- Priscilla with two l's is the standard English spelling.
- The meaning is 'ancient', which some families will weigh.
- Spanish and English pronounce it differently.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Priscila
Feminine · #2194 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Priscilas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,800 people named Priscila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Priscila?
- Priscila is one of 4 recorded spellings. Priscilla is the more common one — 555 births in 2025 against 84 for Priscila.
- How popular is the name Priscila in 2025?
- Priscila ranks #2194 among US girl names in 2025, with 84 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Priscila?
- About 1 in every 19,134 US girls born in 2025 was named Priscila — 84 in all.
- Will my child share the name Priscila with classmates?
- Priscila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Priscila
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Asia#2194 · Zaila#2194 · Addalyn#2194 · Caylee#2194 · Olympia#2194 · Janna#2194 · Aqsa#2194 · Samiya#2194
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Priscila? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Priscila and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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