Prisila
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "ancient" or "venerable".
Name Census estimates that about 773 living Americans carry the first name Prisila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Prisila today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Prisila births was 2002 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Prisila. 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
773
~ 1 in 443,408 Americans
Peak year
2002
62 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2020 SSA rank
#16,955
Tracked since 1978
Census
Prisila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 710 people with the first name Prisila, which placed it at #16,016 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
#16,016
National first-name rank
People counted
710
710 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prisila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prisila is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.7%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Prisila 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 Prisila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.1% · 661
- White3.7% · 26
- Black or African American1.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 8
- Two or more races0.3% · 2
Popularity
Prisila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Prisila from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 458 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Prisila 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 Prisila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Prisilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Prisila, while Nevada, Illinois, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 71 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Prisila
The name Prisila is a feminine given name with roots in the Latin language. It is derived from the Latin word "prisca," which means "ancient" or "old-fashioned." The name likely emerged during the Roman Empire, when Latin was the dominant language in much of Europe and the Mediterranean region.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Prisila can be traced back to the 1st century AD, in the New Testament of the Bible. In the Book of Acts, a woman named Prisila, also known as Priscilla, is mentioned as a tentmaker and a companion of the apostle Paul. She and her husband, Aquila, are credited with helping to establish the early Christian church in various cities.
During the Middle Ages, the name Prisila became more widespread across Europe, particularly in areas influenced by the Catholic Church. It was often associated with piety and devotion, as the biblical Prisila was known for her faith and commitment to spreading Christianity.
In the 16th century, Prisila became a popular name among the Puritans in England. One notable figure with this name was Prisila Mullins, who was among the passengers on the Mayflower voyage to the New World in 1620. She and her husband, John Alden, were among the founding settlers of Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts.
Another famous bearer of the name Prisila was Prisila Wakefield, an English author and philanthropist who lived from 1751 to 1832. She wrote several books on education and founded a school for girls in Nottingham, England.
In the 19th century, the name Prisila gained popularity in the United States. One notable American with this name was Prisila Bright Holten, who was born in 1828 and became a prominent advocate for women's rights and the abolition of slavery.
Throughout history, the name Prisila has been associated with strength, resilience, and a commitment to principles. While its popularity has fluctuated over time, it remains a beautiful and meaningful name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Prisila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Prisila 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
Prisila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Prisila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 773 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Prisila 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 443,408 US residents.
Is Prisila a common name?
We classify Prisila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 787 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Prisila most popular?
The single biggest year for Prisila was 2002, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Prisila is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Prisila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 710 people with the name Prisila, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,016 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 Prisila 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 Prisila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Prisila appears almost entirely female. Of the 713 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Prisila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prisila is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.7%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Prisila most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Prisila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (661 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 Prisila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Prisila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Prisila 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 Prisila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Prisila 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 Prisila 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 Americans are named Prisila?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.