Keysha
An English feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Keisha.
Name Census estimates that about 1,825 living Americans carry the first name Keysha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keysha today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keysha births was 1976 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keysha. 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 Keysha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 187,811 Americans
Peak year
1976
92 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,236
Tracked since 1965
Census
Keysha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,807 people with the first name Keysha, which placed it at #8,110 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
#8,110
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,807 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
50.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keysha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keysha is Black at 50.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.8%) and White (14.9%). 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 Keysha 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 Keysha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.1% · 906
- Hispanic or Latino28.8% · 521
- White14.9% · 270
- Two or more races4.2% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Popularity
Keysha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keysha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 706 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keysha 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 Keysha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keyshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Keysha, while Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keysha
The name Keysha is believed to have its origins in the African-American community, with the earliest known usage dating back to the late 20th century. The name is thought to be a variant or diminutive form of the name Keisha, which itself is derived from the Irish Gaelic name Cáeishe, meaning "watchful" or "vigilant".
While the name Keysha is not directly associated with any ancient texts or religious scriptures, its potential roots in the Irish Gaelic language point to a rich cultural heritage. The name's popularity among African-American families may have been influenced by the desire to embrace a unique and distinctive identity while reflecting the diverse ethnic backgrounds that have shaped the African-American experience.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Keysha can be found in the 1990s, with the birth of Keysha Carr, an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born in 1986, Carr rose to prominence with her debut album "The Way It Is" in 2005, which featured her hit single "I Changed My Mind".
Another notable figure bearing the name Keysha is Keysha Bullock, an American basketball player who competed professionally in the WNBA. Born in 1983, Bullock played for several teams during her career, including the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks.
In the realm of literature, Keysha is the name of a character in the novel "The Coldest Winter Ever" by Sister Souljah, published in 1999. The book, which explores the harsh realities of urban life, helped to further popularize the name among African-American readers.
Moving to the world of politics, Keysha Brooks served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 92nd district from 2015 to 2021. Her tenure in public service showcased the growing prominence of the name Keysha in various spheres of society.
Another individual worth mentioning is Keysha Milliorn, an American author and spoken word artist known for her work addressing social issues and promoting self-empowerment. Her literary contributions have helped to amplify diverse voices and perspectives within the African-American community.
These examples demonstrate the rich tapestry of individuals who have borne the name Keysha throughout history, each contributing to the cultural and social fabric of their respective communities and fields.
People
Keysha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keysha 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
Keysha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keysha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,825 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keysha 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 187,811 US residents.
Is Keysha a common name?
We classify Keysha as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,939 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keysha most popular?
The single biggest year for Keysha was 1976, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keysha 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 Keysha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,807 people with the name Keysha, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,110 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 Keysha 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 Keysha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keysha appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,805 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 Keysha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keysha is Black at 50.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.8%) and White (14.9%). 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 Keysha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keysha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.1% (906 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 Keysha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keysha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keysha 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 Keysha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keysha 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 Keysha 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 share the name Keysha?
Find out how many people share the name Keysha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.