Priscila is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Priscilla — from the Latin priscus ("ancient, venerable, of former times"). A popular name across Latin America and the Lusophone world. The biblical Priscilla (Prisca) was an early Christian missionary mentioned in Acts and the Pauline epistles — she and her husband Aquila were tentmakers who hosted a house church and instructed the eloquent preacher Apollos; one of the most-prominent women in the early Christian church and frequently cited in discussions of women's leadership in Christianity. Priscila Meirelles (born 1983) — Brazilian model and beauty queen; Miss Earth 2004 — the first Brazilian to win the title; later married actor Ed Westwick. Priscila Joseph — Indian actress. Priscila Perales (born 1981) — Mexican model; Miss International 2007. The name carries strong Catholic devotional roots (Saint Priscilla, an early Roman martyr, has catacombs named for her on the Via Salaria in Rome — among the oldest Christian burial sites). Priscila has steadily risen in US Hispanic communities as a heritage-spelling alternative to the anglicized Priscilla, paralleling the rise of Renata, Camila, and Valentina. Priscila Fantin — Brazilian actress.
Featured throughout early Christianity and Latin American culture.
Priscila does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Priscila reduce to 6, The Nurturer. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.