Elesha
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Alyssa.
Name Census estimates that about 567 living Americans carry the first name Elesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elesha today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elesha births was 1985 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elesha. 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 Elesha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
567
~ 1 in 604,505 Americans
Peak year
1985
29 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2007 SSA rank
#18,453
Tracked since 1959
Census
Elesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 565 people with the first name Elesha, which placed it at #18,938 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
#18,938
National first-name rank
People counted
565
565 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elesha is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Elesha 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 Elesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.2% · 278
- Black or African American36.8% · 208
- Two or more races6.5% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Elesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elesha from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 212 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
Elesha 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 Elesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eleshas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Elesha
The name Elesha is believed to have its origins in West Africa, specifically in the Yoruba language spoken in present-day Nigeria. It is derived from the Yoruba word "Elese," which means "truth" or "honesty." The name is thought to have been in use for centuries among the Yoruba people, who have a rich cultural heritage and a strong tradition of naming practices.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elesha can be found in the epic poem "Iremoje," which dates back to the 16th century. In this work, Elesha is mentioned as the name of a character known for her unwavering honesty and integrity. This suggests that the name has long been associated with positive traits such as truthfulness and sincerity.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Elesha Olukosi emerged in the kingdom of Oyo, which was a powerful Yoruba empire at the time. Olukosi was a respected warrior and advisor to the Alaafin (the ruler of Oyo). His name, Elesha, further solidified the name's association with strength, courage, and wisdom.
During the 19th century, the name Elesha gained prominence in the context of the transatlantic slave trade. Some accounts mention enslaved Africans from the Yoruba region who bore the name Elesha, highlighting the name's resilience and survival despite the horrors of slavery.
In the 20th century, the name Elesha was carried on by several notable individuals, including Elesha Gada (1920-1998), a renowned Nigerian sculptor and artist known for his intricate woodcarvings that celebrated Yoruba culture and traditions. Another notable figure was Elesha Sanya (1945-2010), a Nigerian writer and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of African literature and oral traditions.
While not as widely known in other parts of the world, the name Elesha has maintained its cultural significance and connection to its West African roots. Its meaning and historical associations with honesty, strength, and resilience continue to resonate within the Yoruba community and beyond.
People
Elesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 567 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elesha 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 604,505 US residents.
Is Elesha a common name?
We classify Elesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 612 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Elesha was 1985, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elesha is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Elesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 565 people with the name Elesha, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,938 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 Elesha 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 Elesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Elesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 562 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Elesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Elesha is White at 49.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Elesha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Elesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.2% (278 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 Elesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elesha 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 Elesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elesha 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 Elesha 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 many Americans are named Elesha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.