Priscille
A feminine given name of Latin origin meaning "ancient" or "venerable".
Name Census estimates that about 95 living Americans carry the first name Priscille. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Priscille today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Priscille births was 1944 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Priscille. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Priscille is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Priscilles were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Priscille. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
95
~ 1 in 3,607,940 Americans
Peak year
1944
19 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,814
Tracked since 1923
Census
Priscille in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 280 people with the first name Priscille, which placed it at #30,870 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,870
National first-name rank
People counted
280
280 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Priscille
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priscille is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (42.1%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Priscille described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Priscille at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.2% · 135
- Black or African American42.1% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Priscille: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Priscille from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 125 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Priscille by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Priscille during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Priscilles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Priscille
The given name Priscille originated from the Latin name Priscilla, which is a diminutive form of the Roman family name Prisca. The name Prisca is derived from the Latin word "priscus," meaning "ancient" or "former." This Latin name can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a personal name during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire periods.
In the New Testament of the Bible, Priscilla is mentioned as a woman who, along with her husband Aquila, accompanied the apostle Paul on his missionary journeys. She is described as a dedicated Christian and a teacher of the faith. This biblical reference contributed to the popularity of the name among early Christian communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Priscilla was Priscilla the Younger, a Roman woman who lived in the late 4th century AD. She was a member of the patrician Anicia family and is notable for being the daughter-in-law of the renowned philosopher and statesman Quintus Aurelius Symmachus.
During the Middle Ages, the name Priscilla remained in use among various European populations, particularly in regions influenced by the Roman Catholic Church. One notable bearer of the name was Priscilla of Miramion (1629-1689), a French noblewoman and founder of the Order of the Daughters of the Cross, a religious congregation dedicated to the education of girls.
In the 19th century, the name gained popularity in English-speaking countries. One of the most famous individuals with the name was Priscilla Bacon (1816-1859), an American writer and educator who was a pioneer in the establishment of educational institutions for women in the United States.
Another significant figure was Priscilla Wakefield (1751-1832), an English author, and philanthropist who wrote extensively on educational and moral themes, particularly for children and young adults.
The name Priscilla has also been associated with various artistic and literary works. For example, in John Bunyan's allegorical novel "The Pilgrim's Progress," Priscilla is one of the characters who joins the protagonist Christian on his journey.
While the name Priscilla has been more commonly used throughout history, the variant spelling Priscille has also been seen, particularly in French-speaking regions. One notable bearer of this spelling was Priscille de Bourlie (1626-1697), a French noblewoman and author known for her participation in the literary salons of 17th-century Paris.
People
Priscille + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Priscille as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Priscille: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Priscille?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 95 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Priscille going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,607,940 US residents.
Is Priscille a common name?
We classify Priscille as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Priscille most popular?
The single biggest year for Priscille was 1944, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Priscille is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Priscille in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 280 people with the name Priscille, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,870 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Priscille in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Priscille?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Priscille appears almost entirely female. Of the 271 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Priscille?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priscille is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (42.1%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Priscille most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Priscille in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (135 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Priscille in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Priscille a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Priscille in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Priscille still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Priscille in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Priscille can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Priscille?
Find out how many people share the name Priscille on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.