From Latin 'prudentia' meaning good judgment, foresight, and wisdom; a Puritan virtue name.
Prudence is one of the four classical cardinal virtues — alongside Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance — and its name derives directly from the Latin prudentia, meaning foresight, wisdom, and practical good judgment. Cicero identified prudence as the mother of all virtues, the capacity to discern the appropriate course of action in any situation. When Puritan parents in 17th-century England and New England began choosing virtue names for their daughters, Prudence was among the most favored, alongside Faith, Hope, and Charity.
The name carried moral gravity and aspiration simultaneously. The name's most famous cultural moment came in 1968 when John Lennon wrote "Dear Prudence" for the Beatles' White Album. The song was addressed to Prudence Farrow — sister of actress Mia Farrow — who had accompanied the Beatles to India to study Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and had become so deeply absorbed in meditation that her companions worried she had retreated from the world entirely.
Lennon's gentle, coaxing lyric urging her to "come out to play" gave the name an indelible association with dreamy introspection and the counterculture's spiritual seeking. The name also appears in literature — Chaucer's Tale of Melibee features a wise character named Prudence — and in countless 18th-century novels where it signals a heroine's levelheaded virtue. After declining sharply in the mid-20th century, Prudence has enjoyed a gentle revival among parents who admire its intellectual seriousness and its surprisingly lush sound.
"Prue" as a nickname softens it considerably, and the full name's old-fashioned confidence now reads as distinction rather than severity. It is a name that rewards its bearer with a ready-made reputation for wisdom.