Priscillia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "ancient" or "venerable".
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Priscillia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Priscillia today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Priscillia births was 1957 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Priscillia. 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.
People living today
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
1957
14 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,025
Tracked since 1923
Census
Priscillia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 270 people with the first name Priscillia, which placed it at #31,633 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
#31,633
National first-name rank
People counted
270
270 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Priscillia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priscillia is Black at 46.7%. The next largest groups are White (26.7%) and Hispanic (15.2%). 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 Priscillia 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 Priscillia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.7% · 126
- White26.7% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino15.2% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.3% · 17
- Two or more races4.1% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Popularity
Priscillia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Priscillia from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 82 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Priscillia 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 Priscillia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Priscillia
The name Priscillia has its roots in the Latin language, originating from the Roman name Prisca or Priscilla. This name was derived from the Latin word "priscus," meaning ancient or old. It's believed that the name was first used during the Roman Empire, around the 1st century AD.
Priscilla was a fairly common name among Roman women, particularly those from wealthy or noble families. It was considered a respectable and dignified name, often associated with wisdom and virtue. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where Priscilla is mentioned as a prominent early Christian and a companion of the Apostle Paul.
In ancient Rome, a notable figure named Priscilla was the wife of the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus. She lived in the 1st century AD and was known for her intelligence and influence in the imperial court. Another famous Priscilla was a Roman martyr from the 3rd century AD, who was executed for her Christian faith during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian.
During the Middle Ages, the name Priscillia or its variants, such as Priscilla, remained in use, particularly among Christian communities. One notable figure was Priscilla, the wife of the Visigothic King Ataulf, who ruled in the early 5th century AD.
In the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity once again, with several notable women bearing the name. Priscilla Sottile was an Italian humanist and scholar from the 15th century, known for her contributions to the study of classical literature.
In the 17th century, Priscilla Mullins was a prominent figure among the Pilgrims who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower in 1620. She was one of the few survivors of the harsh first winter in Plymouth Colony and later married John Alden, a fellow Pilgrim.
As the name spread across Europe and the Americas, it continued to be used by various individuals throughout history. Priscilla Wakefield was an English writer and philanthropist from the 18th century, known for her educational works and advocacy for women's rights.
People
Priscillia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Priscillia 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
Priscillia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Priscillia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Priscillia 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Priscillia a common name?
We classify Priscillia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 438 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Priscillia most popular?
The single biggest year for Priscillia was 1957, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Priscillia is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Priscillia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 270 people with the name Priscillia, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,633 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 Priscillia 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 Priscillia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Priscillia leans strongly female. 273 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Priscillia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priscillia is Black at 46.7%. The next largest groups are White (26.7%) and Hispanic (15.2%). 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 Priscillia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Priscillia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.7% (126 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 Priscillia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Priscillia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Priscillia 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 Priscillia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Priscillia 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 Priscillia 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 called Priscillia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.