Julisa
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "lovely rainbow."
Name Census estimates that about 4,263 living Americans carry the first name Julisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Julisa today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Julisa births was 1997 (292 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Julisa. 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.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 80,402 Americans
Peak year
1997
292 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,376
Tracked since 1965
Census
Julisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,333 people with the first name Julisa, which placed it at #4,348 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
#4,348
National first-name rank
People counted
4.3K
4,333 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
84.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Julisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Julisa is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and White (3.6%). 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 Julisa 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 Julisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.0% · 3,640
- Black or African American9.9% · 430
- White3.6% · 154
- Two or more races1.0% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 23
Popularity
Julisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Julisa from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,697 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Julisa 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 Julisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Julisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Julisa, while Virginia, Nevada, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 124 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Julisa
The name Julisa is a relatively modern feminine name with its origins traced back to the late 20th century. It is believed to be a combination of the names Julia and Lisa, both of which have their roots in ancient languages.
Julia is a feminine form of the Roman family name Julius, which is derived from the ancient Roman name Iulus or Ioulos. Iulus was the son of Aeneas, a Trojan hero who was the legendary ancestor of the Roman people. The name Iulus is thought to be related to the Greek word "ioulos," meaning "downy-bearded," referring to the youth's first beard growth.
Lisa, on the other hand, is a shortened form of the name Elizabeth, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Elisheva. Elisheva means "God is my oath" or "God is abundance" in Hebrew. The name Elizabeth gained popularity in the Christian tradition as it was the name of the mother of John the Baptist.
Despite its relatively recent origin, the name Julisa has been embraced by families across various cultures and regions. Notable individuals who have borne this name include Julisa Montes, a Mexican actress born in 1981, and Julisa González, a Venezuelan actress born in 1972.
Another prominent figure with the name Julisa is Julisa Margolles, a Mexican contemporary artist known for her controversial works that explore themes of violence and death. She was born in 1986 and has gained international recognition for her thought-provoking installations and performances.
In the literary world, Julisa Massó is a Spanish writer and poet who was born in 1949. Her works often explore themes of love, identity, and the human condition, earning her critical acclaim and numerous awards.
Lastly, Julisa Campos is a Honduran politician and activist who has been involved in promoting women's rights and environmental conservation. She was born in 1962 and has served as a member of the National Congress of Honduras, advocating for important social and political causes.
People
Julisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Julisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Julisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Julisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Julisa 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 80,402 US residents.
Is Julisa a common name?
We classify Julisa as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Julisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Julisa was 1997, when 292 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Julisa is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Julisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,333 people with the name Julisa, or 1.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,348 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 Julisa 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 Julisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Julisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,327 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Julisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Julisa is Hispanic at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and White (3.6%). 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 Julisa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Julisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (3,640 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 Julisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Julisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Julisa 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 Julisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Julisa 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 Julisa 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 Julisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.