Priscilla

For other uses, see Priscilla (disambiguation).

Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin Prisca, derived from priscus. There is a theory that this biblical character was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews.

Prisca, Priscilla

Priscilla Alden, from a painting by George H. Boughton.
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Roman
Meaning	venerable, ancient, classical, primordial[1]
Other names
Related names	Prisca

The name first appears in the New Testament either as Priscilla or Prisca, a female leader in early Christianity.^[2][3] The name also appears along with Maximilla, referring to two female leaders of the Montanist movement of the 2nd century AD.

The name appears in English literature in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1596), and was adopted as an English name by the Puritans in the 17th century.

It increased in usage in the United States in the 1930s due to the influence of actress Priscilla Lane and again in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to the influence of actress Priscilla Presley.^[4]

Notable people and characters with the name include:

People

• Priscilla, an early Christian of the New Testament and companion to Paul the Apostle
• Priscilla and Maximilla, charismatic prophets of the 2nd century Montanist movement
• Priscilla (singer, born 1990), Brazilian singer and songwriter
• Priscilla Abwao (1924–2009), Kenyan social worker
• Priscilla Achapka, Nigerian environmental activist
• Priscilla Ahn, American singer
• Priscilla Alcantara (born 1996), Brazilian singer-songwriter, television presenter and actress
• Priscilla Alden (c. 1602 – c. 1680), member of Plymouth Colony, wife of John Alden
• Priscilla Almodovar (born 1967), American chief executive officer of Fannie Mae
• Priscilla Atkins, Aboriginal-Australian leader, advocate and television producer
• Priscilla Barnes (born 1954), American actress
• Priscilla Bertie, 21st Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (1761–1828), British noble
• Priscilla Betti (born 1989), French singer and actress
• Priscilla Block, American singer
• Priscilla Braislin (1838–1888), American mathematician
• Priscilla Carrasco (born 1983), American photographer
• Priscilla Chan (born 1985), American philanthropist, wife of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
• Priscilla Chan Wai-Han (born 1965), singer from Hong Kong
• Priscilla A. Clapp (born 1941), United States diplomat
• Priscilla Cohn (1933–2019), American philosopher and animal rights activist
• Priscilla Crabb (1864–1931), New Zealand temperance activist and community leader
• Priscilla Coolidge (1941–2014), American recording artist and sister of Rita CoolidgePriscilla Dean (1896–1987), American actress
• Priscilla Diaz (MISSPSTAR/P-Star) (born 1994), American rapper, singer and actress
• Priscilla Duffield (1918–2009), American woman who worked on the Manhattan Project
• Priscilla Gagné (born 1986), Canadian judoka
• Priscilla Garita (born 1968), American actress
• Priscilla Giddings (born 1983), American politician
• Priscilla Gneto (born 1991), French judoka
• Priscilla Guthrie, American government official
• Priscilla Hill (born 1960), American retired figure skater
• Priscilla Hiss (1903–1984), wife of Alger Hiss and alleged communist who was put on trial
• Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player
• Priscilla Horton (1818–1895), English singer and actress
• Priscilla Kayira, Malawian radio broadcaster, presenter and television personality.
• Priscilla Kemble (1756–1845), English actress
• Priscilla Kuye (born 1940), Nigerian lawyer
• Priscilla Lane (1915–1995), of the singing Lane Sisters
• Priscilla Leung (born 1961), Hong Kong legislator, barrister and associate professor
• Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (born 1982), Canadian track and field hurdler
• Priscilla Lopez (born 1948), American singer, dancer and actress
• Priscilla Maaswinkel (born 1985), Dutch ten-pin bowler
• Priscilla Maria Veronica White (1943–2015), known professionally as Cilla Black, British singer, television presenter, actress and author
• Priscilla McLean (born 1942), American composer, performer, artist, writer, and reviewer
• Priscilla Meirelles (born 1983), Brazilian model, host, actress, environmentalist, and beauty queen
• Priscilla Monge (born 1968), Costa Rican artist
• Priscilla Morand (born 1993), Mauritian judoka
• Priscilla Morgan (born 1934), British actress
• Priscilla Morrill (1927–1994), American actress
• Priscilla Namingha (1924–2008), Hopi-Tewa potter
• Priscilla Napier (1908–1998), English writer
• Priscilla Negrón (born 1984), Ecuadorian actress
• Priscilla Nzimiro (1923–1951), physician from Nigeria
• Priscilla Okyere (born 1995), Ghanaian footballer
• Priscilla Owen (born 1954), United States federal judge for the Fifth Circuit
• Priscilla Paetsch (1931–2017), American violinist, composer, artist, and horse trainer
• Priscilla Pitts, New Zealand writer and art curator
• Priscilla Pointer (1924–2025), American actress and mother of actress Amy Irving
• Priscilla Presley (born 1945), American actress and businesswoman and ex-wife of Elvis Presley
• Priscilla Schwartz, Sierra Leonean lawyer
• Priscilla Shirer (born 1974), American author, motivational speaker, actress, Christian evangelist
• Priscilla J. Smith, American lawyer and activist
• Priscilla Stud (1864–1929), British Christian missionary and wife of Charles Studd
• Priscilla Taylor, American model and actress
• Priscilla Cooper Tyler (1816–1889), acting First Lady of the United States, daughter-in-law of President John Tyler
• Priscilla Tyson (born 1955), American Councilwoman
• Priscilla Wakefield (1751–1832), English Quaker educational writer and philanthropist
• Priscilla Welch (born 1944), British marathon runner
• Priscilla Wong (born 1981), Hong Kong television actress and host
• Priscilla Young (1925–2006), English social worker
• Prisilla Rivera (born 1984), volleyball player from the Dominican Republic

Fictional characters

• Priscilla, a tour bus in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a 1994 film, as well as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (musical), a musical adaptation of the film
• Priscilla: The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France, a 2013 book by Nicholas Shakespeare about his aunt
• Priscilla "Pris" Stratton, from the 1982 film Blade Runner
• Priscilla, from the film 1981 miniseries Peter and Paul
• Priscilla, a sweet cactus mouse or aye-aye in the 2011 animated action comedy film Rango
• Priscilla Mullins, a main character in the 1979 film Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure
• Priscilla White, the main character in the 2009 comedy film American Virgin
• Priscilla, in the 2008 martial arts film Chocolate
• Priscilla Stasna, a main character in the American sitcom The King of Queens
• Priscilla, in the 1993 film Bank Robber
• Priscilla Kelly, in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
• Priscilla Kitaen, real name of Voodoo, a comic book character appearing in Wildstorm and DC Comics.
• Priscilla Lapham, a main character in the 1957 film Johnny Tremain
• Priscilla Pig, Bob Cratchit's father in the 2006 animated comedy film Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
• Constable Priscilla Smith 'Smithy', a main character in the 2010 Australian television police drama Cops L.A.C.
• Priscilla Maine, New York society member in the 1920 silent drama film The Dark Mirror
• Priscilla P, a member of the " Happiness Patrol on Terra Alpha" in the second serial of the television series Doctor Who
• Priscilla, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 novel The Blithedale Romance
• Priscilla, an antagonist in Norihiro Yagi's dark fantasy manga Claymore
• Priscilla, a romantic poet and bard in an action fantasy role-playing video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Crossbreed Priscilla, in an action fantasy role-playing video game Dark Souls
• Priscilla, a Simon Kidgits character developed by Simon Brand Ventures
• Priscilla Barielle, from the light novel/anime series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World·
• Priscilla, a Honey Possum from Jim Henson's Animal Show
• Priscilla the Princess Pony, a collectible character from the 2008 British children’s online game Moshi Monsters

See also

• Priscila, an alternative spelling of Priscilla
• List of biblical names