Lesa
A feminine diminutive form of Elizabeth, meaning "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 9,319 living Americans carry the first name Lesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lesa today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lesa births was 1962 (778 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lesa. 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 Lesa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.3K
~ 1 in 36,780 Americans
Peak year
1962
778 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1962 SSA rank
#3,506
Tracked since 1915
Census
Lesa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,442 people with the first name Lesa, which placed it at #2,395 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
#2,395
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,442 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lesa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lesa is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lesa 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 Lesa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 8,634
- Black or African American10.1% · 1,058
- Two or more races3.3% · 349
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 222
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 89
Gender
Gender distribution for Lesa
Out of the 11,421 babies given the name Lesa 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.
Lesa as a male name
- Ranked #3,506 in 1962
- 7 male births in 1962
- Peak: 1962 (7 births)
Lesa as a female name
- Ranked #14,883 in 2018
- 6 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1962 (771 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lesa appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,440 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lesa from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 6,322 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lesa 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 Lesa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lesas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Lesa, while New Mexico, Montana, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 216 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lesa
The name Lesa has its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly in the Czech and Slovak regions of Central Europe. It is believed to have emerged as a diminutive form of the Slavic name Elizaveta, which is the Slavic variation of the Hebrew name Elizabeth, meaning "consecrated to God" or "my God is an oath."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lesa can be found in the annals of the Přemyslid dynasty, which ruled over the lands of Bohemia from the 9th to the 14th century. In the 12th century, a noblewoman named Lesa of Přemysl was mentioned in a chronicle as a member of the ruling family.
In the 14th century, a Czech religious reformer and philosopher named Lesa of Hradec played a significant role in the Hussite movement, which challenged the authority of the Catholic Church and advocated for reforms within Christianity. Her writings and teachings had a lasting impact on the intellectual and religious landscape of Central Europe.
During the Renaissance period, a Slovak poet and humanist named Lesa Životský (1486-1548) gained recognition for her contributions to literature and the promotion of Slavic culture. Her works celebrated the beauty of the Slovak language and encouraged its use in scholarly and artistic endeavors.
In the 19th century, a Polish-born artist named Lesa Semadeni (1828-1904) achieved fame for her portraits and landscapes, which captured the essence of the Romantic era. Her paintings are preserved in several renowned galleries across Europe.
Another notable figure with the name Lesa was Lesa Korytová (1914-1998), a Czech actress and theatre director who played a pivotal role in the development of modern Czech theatre. She was renowned for her innovative approach to staging and her ability to bring complex characters to life on stage.
While the name Lesa is not as common as some other Slavic names, it holds a rich cultural heritage and has been associated with notable individuals throughout history, particularly in the fields of arts, literature, and religious thought.
People
Lesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lesa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lesa 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 36,780 US residents.
Is Lesa a common name?
We classify Lesa as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,421 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Lesa was 1962, when 778 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lesa is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lesa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,442 people with the name Lesa, or 3.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,395 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 Lesa 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 Lesa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lesa appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,440 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Lesa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lesa is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Lesa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (8,634 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 Lesa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lesa a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Lesa 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 Lesa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lesa 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 Lesa 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 are named Lesa?
Find out how many Americans are named Lesa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.