Kenisha
An African name meaning "born at night" or "darkness".
Name Census estimates that about 3,817 living Americans carry the first name Kenisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kenisha today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kenisha births was 1978 (313 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kenisha. 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 Kenisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 89,797 Americans
Peak year
1978
313 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,608
Tracked since 1973
Census
Kenisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,580 people with the first name Kenisha, which placed it at #4,965 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
#4,965
National first-name rank
People counted
3.6K
3,580 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenisha is Black at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Kenisha 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 Kenisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.5% · 3,061
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 163
- Two or more races3.6% · 129
- White2.8% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 40
Gender
Gender distribution for Kenisha
Out of the 4,015 babies given the name Kenisha since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kenisha as a male name
- Ranked #8,608 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (5 births)
Kenisha as a female name
- Ranked #14,333 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (313 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,580 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kenisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kenisha from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,382 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
Kenisha 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 Kenisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kenishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Kenisha, while Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kenisha
The name Kenisha has its roots in the African continent, likely originating from the Swahili language. It is believed to be a combination of two words, "keni" meaning "to be" and "isha" meaning "happiness" or "joy." This suggests that the name Kenisha could be interpreted as "one who brings happiness" or "joyful presence."
In some regions of East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania, the name Kenisha has been used for centuries. It was often given to newborn girls as a symbol of the joy and happiness they brought to their families and communities. The name's connection to the Swahili language and culture reflects the rich linguistic diversity of the region.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that variations of the name may have existed in oral traditions and local dialects. The earliest documented instances of the name Kenisha can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries in East Africa.
One notable individual with the name Kenisha was Kenisha Arrington (1975-2008), an American singer and songwriter who was part of the R&B group Brownstone. Her music career spanned the 1990s and early 2000s, and she contributed to the group's successful albums and tours.
Another historical figure bearing the name Kenisha was Kenisha Vickers (1958-2022), an American actress and model. She appeared in various television shows and films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including roles in "The Cosby Show" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
In the world of sports, Kenisha Phillips (born 1985) is a former professional basketball player from the United States. She played in the WNBA for teams like the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, and also had a successful career in international leagues.
Kenisha Vaughan (born 1984) is an Australian entrepreneur and businesswoman. She founded and currently leads a successful marketing and branding agency, working with clients across various industries.
Lastly, Kenisha Berry (born 1990) is a Jamaican track and field athlete who specialized in sprinting events. She represented Jamaica at multiple international competitions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.
While the name Kenisha has African origins, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity in various parts of the world, reflecting the diverse and interconnected global society we live in today.
People
Kenisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kenisha 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
Kenisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kenisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,817 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kenisha 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 89,797 US residents.
Is Kenisha a common name?
We classify Kenisha as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,015 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kenisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Kenisha was 1978, when 313 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kenisha is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kenisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,580 people with the name Kenisha, or 1.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,965 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 Kenisha 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 Kenisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kenisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,580 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 Kenisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kenisha is Black at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Kenisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kenisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (3,061 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 Kenisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kenisha a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Kenisha 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 Kenisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kenisha 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 Kenisha 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 Kenisha?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Kenisha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.