Delisha
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially a variant of Delilah.
Name Census estimates that about 923 living Americans carry the first name Delisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delisha today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delisha births was 1989 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delisha. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Delisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
923
~ 1 in 371,348 Americans
Peak year
1989
53 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2019 SSA rank
#16,139
Tracked since 1961
Census
Delisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 843 people with the first name Delisha, which placed it at #14,082 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,082
National first-name rank
People counted
843
843 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delisha is Black at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Delisha described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Delisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.0% · 641
- White8.2% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 39
- Two or more races3.1% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 12
Popularity
Delisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delisha from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 311 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delisha by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Delisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Michigan recorded the most babies named Delisha, while Kentucky, Mississippi, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delisha
The given name Delisha has its roots in the African American community, emerging as a variation of the name Delilah, which has Hebrew origins. The name Delilah is derived from the Hebrew word "dalal," meaning "to languish" or "to be weak." It first appeared in the biblical account of Samson and Delilah, where Delilah was a Philistine woman who betrayed Samson, leading to his downfall.
While the exact origin of the name Delisha is unclear, it is believed to have gained popularity in the United States during the 20th century, particularly among African American families. The variation in spelling and pronunciation may have been influenced by regional dialects and personal preferences.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delisha dates back to the late 19th century. Delisha Culberson, born in 1872 in Mississippi, was one of the first documented individuals to bear this name. Unfortunately, little is known about her life and achievements.
Throughout history, the name Delisha has been carried by several notable individuals. Delisha Milton-Jones, born in 1974, is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams like the Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics. Delisha Boyd, born in 1977, is an American singer and songwriter known for her work in gospel music.
Another prominent figure with the name Delisha is Delisha Ann Boyd, an American author and motivational speaker born in 1970. Her book, "The Butterfly Experience," focuses on personal growth and empowerment.
In the realm of politics, Delisha Darnell Boyd, born in 1970, served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing the 111th district from 2012 to 2016.
Delisha Donielle Freeman, born in 1988, is an American track and field athlete who has competed in the Olympic Games and won medals at various international competitions.
While the name Delisha may not have a long and extensively documented history, it holds significance within the African American community as a unique and distinctive name with a connection to the biblical figure Delilah.
People
Delisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Delisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 923 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delisha going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 371,348 US residents.
Is Delisha a common name?
We classify Delisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 980 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Delisha was 1989, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delisha is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 843 people with the name Delisha, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,082 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Delisha in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Delisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 839 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Delisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delisha is Black at 76.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Delisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Delisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (641 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Delisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delisha in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Delisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delisha in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Delisha can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Delisha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.