Prudence comes from the Latin prudentia and means "foresight" or "good judgment", one of the four cardinal virtues. The Puritans brought it to New England in the 17th century, and the Beatles gave it a gentle revival with the song Dear Prudence. In the United States Prudence ranked number 9709 in 2000, climbed to a peak of number 1858 in 2019 and stands at number 2113 among girls' names in 2025.