Precious is a predominantly feminine given name derived from the English word meaning "of great worth." It is also in occasional use for males.
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It first appeared in the top 1,000 most popular names for girls in the United States in 1978, when it ranked at 989. It was ranked in the top 500 names given to newborn American girls between 1987 and 2002. It has since fallen in popularity and was last ranked in the top 1,000 names for girls in 2010. In 2011, there were 195 newborn American girls given the name; in 2012 there were 154 American girls given the name. In the United States, the name has been used predominantly by African Americans. According to one study, of 454 girls named Precious in California during the 1990s, 431 of them were African American.
It remained a popular name in the Philippines, where it was the ninth most popular name given to newborn girls in 2011. There were 394 newborn Filipino girls named Precious in 2011.