Kaneesha
A feminine name of uncertain origin possibly derived from an Indian language.
Name Census estimates that about 462 living Americans carry the first name Kaneesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaneesha today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaneesha births was 1990 (175 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaneesha. 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
462
~ 1 in 741,893 Americans
Peak year
1990
175 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2001 SSA rank
#9,042
Tracked since 1977
Census
Kaneesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 436 people with the first name Kaneesha, which placed it at #22,736 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
#22,736
National first-name rank
People counted
436
436 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaneesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaneesha is Black at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and White (3.9%). 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 Kaneesha 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 Kaneesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.0% · 362
- Two or more races5.3% · 23
- White3.9% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Kaneesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaneesha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 374 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaneesha 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 Kaneesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaneeshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Georgia, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Kaneesha, while Tennessee, New York, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaneesha
The name Kaneesha is thought to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, with roots dating back to ancient India. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Kanishtha," which means "the youngest" or "the smallest." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to the youngest child in a family.
In Hindu mythology, Kanishtha is also the name of one of the eight Vasus, who are minor deities associated with natural phenomena such as the earth, wind, and fire. The Vasus are mentioned in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, which date back to around 1500-500 BCE.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kaneesha is difficult to pinpoint precisely, as historical records from ancient India are often limited or incomplete. However, it is likely that the name has been in use for centuries, if not millennia, within various Indian communities and cultures.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Kaneesha was Kaneesha Devi, a 16th-century queen of the Rajput kingdom of Marwar (now part of Rajasthan, India). She was known for her bravery and leadership during times of conflict and is celebrated in local folklore and literature.
Another prominent figure with this name was Kaneesha Dutt, a 19th-century Indian poet and writer from Bengal. He was a prolific author and is best known for his collection of poems titled "Kavitanjali," which explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality.
In the 20th century, Kaneesha Sarabhai was an influential Indian dancer and choreographer. Born in 1924, she played a significant role in reviving and promoting the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, which had fallen into decline during the colonial era.
Kaneesha Nanavati was a notable Indian aviator and one of the first women in India to obtain a commercial pilot's license. Born in 1917, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman to co-pilot a commercial aircraft in 1953.
Kaneesha Chaudhuri was a renowned Indian classical singer and musician from the 20th century. Born in 1936, she was a highly respected exponent of the Khayal style of Hindustani classical music and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1992.
People
Kaneesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaneesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaneesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaneesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 462 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaneesha 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 741,893 US residents.
Is Kaneesha a common name?
We classify Kaneesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 482 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaneesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaneesha was 1990, when 175 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaneesha is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaneesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 436 people with the name Kaneesha, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,736 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 Kaneesha 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 Kaneesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaneesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 435 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Kaneesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaneesha is Black at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and White (3.9%). 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 Kaneesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kaneesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (362 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 Kaneesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaneesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaneesha 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 Kaneesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaneesha 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 Kaneesha 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 people have Kaneesha as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.