Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Priscilla

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PRISCILLA

GENDER: Feminine

USAGE: English, Italian, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin, Biblical

PRONOUNCED: pri-SIL-ə (English), pree-SHEEL-lah (Italian) [key]

Meaning & History

Roman name, a diminutive of PRISCA. In Acts in the New Testament Paul lived with Priscilla and her husband Aquila in Corinth for a while. It has been used as an English given name since the Protestant Reformation, being popular with the Puritans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used it in his poem 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' (1858).

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