Girls' name · peaked in 1940
Priscilla name popularity since 1925
113,962 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Priscilla. Half of them were born in 1971 or earlier, so the typical Priscilla is about 55 years old in 2026. Priscilla peaked in 1940 as the #127 name for girls, and it ranked #544 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 113,962
- Named Priscilla, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #544
- for girls in 2025 (555 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 113,724 girls · 238 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 3.07× its national share
Peak year is the year Priscilla made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Priscilla births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1942. Measured as a share of all babies, Priscilla peaked in 1940.
- Fastest rise: Between 1935 and 1940, Priscilla became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 1,350 baby girls to 1 in 580.
- Steepest fall: Between 1949 and 1954, its share of baby girls fell by 40%, from 1 in 884 to 1 in 1,490.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Priscilla's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Priscilla.
Decade by decade
Babies named Priscilla in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 4,291 | 5 | – |
| 1930s | 8,538 | 12 | #223 |
| 1940s | 18,125 | 40 | #166 |
| 1950s | 14,241 | 16 | #226 |
| 1960s | 10,338 | 23 | #284 |
| 1970s | 9,114 | 28 | #317 |
| 1980s | 16,006 | 77 | #167 |
| 1990s | 14,493 | 37 | #215 |
| 2000s | 9,599 | 0 | #346 |
| 2010s | 6,073 | 0 | #501 |
| 2020–25 | 2,906 | 0 | #544 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
24.2% of babies named Priscilla from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Priscilla is most popular
The index compares Priscilla's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Priscilla.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 3.07× | 1,899 |
| Maine | 2.97× | 1,419 |
| New Hampshire | 2.53× | 891 |
| Vermont | 2.22× | 415 |
| Massachusetts | 1.97× | 5,246 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Priscilla and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Priscilla (this page) | 113,724 | 1940 |
| Priscila | 4,897 | 2002 |
| Priscella | 1,020 | 1980 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Priscilla's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Priscilla.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Priscilla (1940).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data