Gender | Female |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Roman |
Meaning | venerable, ancient, classical, primordial [1] |
Other names | |
Related names | Prisca |
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.
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:
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Amy is an English feminine given name, the English version of the French Aimée, which means beloved. It was used as a diminutive of the Latin name Amata, a name derived from the passive participle of amare, “to love”. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the Middle Ages. It was among the 50 most popular names for girls in England between 1538 and 1700. It was popularized in the 19th century in the Anglosphere by a character in Sir Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth, which was based on the story of Amy Robsart. Enslaved Black women in the United States prior to the American Civil War were more likely to bear the name than white American women because slave masters often chose their names from literary sources. The name declined in use after 1880 but was revived due to the hit song Once in Love with Amy from the 1948 Broadway musical Where's Charley?. The name peaked in usage in the United States between 1973 and 1976, when it was among the five most popular names for American girls. It remained among the top 250 names for American girls in the early 2020s.
Victoria is a feminine given name. It is also used as a family name.
Samantha is a feminine given name.
Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "The God(dess)" in the French language.
Eva is a female given name, the Latinate counterpart of English Eve, which is derived from the Hebrew חַוָּה (Chava/Hava), meaning "life" or "living one", the name of the first woman according to the Hebrew Bible. It can also mean full of life or mother of life. It is the standard biblical form of Eve in many European languages. Evita is a diminutive form, in Spanish.
Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It derives its popularity from the biblical matriarch Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. It is a consistently popular given name across Europe, North America, and the Middle East — being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions.
Aisha is an Arabic female given name. It originated from Aisha, the third wife of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and is a very popular name among Muslim women.
Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. Bella is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle, meaning beautiful in French.
Kate is a feminine given name, and a short form of the names Katherine, Caitlin and others.
Miriam is a feminine given name recorded in Biblical Hebrew in the Book of Exodus as the name of the sister of Moses, the prophetess Miriam.
Alice is a feminine first name with roots in the French and German languages.
Angela is a female given name. It is derived from the Greek word ángelos (ἄγγελος), meaning angel from Greek belief systems. In the United States, the name "Angela" was at its most popular between 1965 and 1979, when it was ranked among the top 10 names for girls. Between 1922 and 2021, in the United States, the name was ranked in the top 35 names for girls.
Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is a feminine given name, the Cornish form of Guinevere, that became popular in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
Jenny was originally the diminutive form of Jane, but it is now associated with Jennifer.
Lara is a feminine given name or a surname in several languages. It can be used as a short form of the name Larissa. It was popularized in the Anglosphere by a character in the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago.
Ellie or Elly is a given name. The name stands on its own or can be a shortened form of any of the numerous female names beginning with the syllable El-, in particular Elizabeth, Eleanor, or Elvira. It can also be a short form of Elaine, Elena, Eliora / Eliorah, Michelle, Elnaz, Amelia, Elham, Elaheh, Eliana, Eloise, Emelia, Elisa, Ellisha, Elisha, Elesha, Shelly, Eleni, or Petronella and as a masculine name of Eleazer, Elliot, Ellis, Eliseo, Elishama, Elrod, Elron, or Elston. In Greek mythology, Ellie (Helle) was the daughter of Athamas and Nephele; sister of Phrixus.
Vera is a female given name of Slavic origin, and by folk etymology it has also been explained as Latin vera meaning "true". In Slavic languages, Vera means faith. The name Vera has been used in the English speaking world since the 19th century and was popular in the early 20th century. In Turkish Vera means piety.
Clara or Klara is a female given name. It is the feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus which meant "clear, bright, famous". Various early male Christian saints were named Clarus; the feminine form became popular after the 13th-century Saint Clare of Assisi, one of the followers of Saint Francis, who renounced her privileged background and founded the order of Poor Clares.
Caroline is a feminine given name, derived from the masculine name Charles. Common nicknames and variations include Callie, Cara, Carol, Carole, Carolina, Carolyn, Carly, Carrie, and Caz.
A large share of this work evidently fell to Priscilla. That she possessed abilities of a high order would seem to be inferred from the fact that her name is always mentioned along with her husband's — in a number of instances is mentioned first.