Priscilla

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Priscila in BR Brazil, AR Argentina, CL Chile and 7 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Priscilla is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name109K records spelled Priscilla14 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Spain

  Languages: French, Catalan, Swahili

  Also written Priscille, Priscillà, Prïscïlla, Prîscîllå, Priscįlla

• Indonesian given name13K records spelled Priscilla6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Priscilla', 'Priscilla, Prïscïllä, Príscilla

• Italian given name3.2K records spelled Priscilla2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Priscillà

• Greek given name1.7K records spelled Priscilla3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, South Africa, United Kingdom

  Also written Prisila, Πρισιλα

59 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Priscilla is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The name Priscilla is a Latin diminutive of Prisca, which is derived from the Roman family name Priscus, meaning "ancient," "venerable," or "classical".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In German, Latin diminutive of Prisca, from priscus 'ancient'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• Of New Testament origin: from a postclassical Latin personal name, a feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Priscus ‘ancient’. Priscilla was the name of a woman with whom St Paul stayed at Corinth (Acts 18:3), referred to elsewhere as Prisca. The name was used among the Puritans in the later 16th century and again enjoyed a vogue in the t9th century. Pet form: Prissy. Variant: Porsha.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A female given name from Latin of biblical origin.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Dutch, Priscilla (Biblical character from Acts)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Priscilla Pointerb. 1924USAmerican actress (1924–2025)
• Priscilla Presleyb. 1945USAmerican actress and businesswoman
• Priscilla Barnesb. 1954USAmerican actress (born 1953)
• Priscilla Nedd-Friendlyb. 1955USAmerican film editor
• CeCe Winansb. 1964USnot in their usual nameAmerican gospel singer
• Priscilla Chanb. 1965CNHong Kong female pop singer
• Priscilla Garitab. 1968USAmerican actress
• Priscilla Chanb. 1985USAmerican pediatrician and philanthropist
• Priscilla Gnetob. 1991FRFrench judoka
• Priscilla Kellyb. 1997USAmerican professional wrestler

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 954 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Priscilla?

We estimate roughly 342 thousand people bear Priscilla (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Priscilla have the most bearers?

Priscilla is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled priscila.

Where is Priscilla most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Priscilla is densest in Brazil — about 1 in 942 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Priscilla compared with other names?

In Argentina, Priscilla is the 307th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Priscilla a male or female name?

Priscilla is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Priscilla mean?

Recorded meaning: Of Latin origin meaning "ancient" or "venerable," Priscilla is a classic name with deep historical and biblical roots.