Neisha
An invented feminine name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,041 living Americans carry the first name Neisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neisha today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neisha births was 1980 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neisha. 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 Neisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 329,255 Americans
Peak year
1980
48 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,017
Tracked since 1960
Census
Neisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,334 people with the first name Neisha, which placed it at #10,118 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
#10,118
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,334 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neisha is Black at 43.3%. The next largest groups are White (23.5%) and Hispanic (21.8%). 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 Neisha 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 Neisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.3% · 577
- White23.5% · 313
- Hispanic or Latino21.8% · 291
- Two or more races5.2% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 16
Popularity
Neisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neisha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 335 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neisha 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 Neisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Neisha, while Utah, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Neisha
The name Neisha is a modern variation of the name Nisha, which originated from the Sanskrit language of ancient India. Sanskrit is one of the oldest Indo-European languages, with roots dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE. The name Nisha is derived from the Sanskrit word "nishaa," which means "night" or "darkness."
In Hindu mythology, Nisha is associated with the goddess Ratri, the personification of night. This connection suggests that the name Neisha may have been bestowed upon children born at night or during the darker phases of the moon. However, there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that explicitly mention the name Neisha or its origins.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Neisha can be traced back to the late 20th century, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. It is possible that the name Neisha emerged as a creative spelling variation or a blending of the names Nisha and Neha, which are both of Sanskrit origin.
Notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Neisha include:
1. Neisha Renee, an American singer and songwriter born in 1987, known for her work in the R&B and pop genres.
2. Neisha Folkes, a Jamaican-born Canadian actress born in 1975, best known for her roles in television series like "Frankie Drake Mysteries" and "Murdoch Mysteries."
3. Neisha Bernard-Thomas, a British actress and singer born in 1981, who has appeared in various stage productions and television shows.
4. Neisha Gharat, an Indian actress born in 1990, known for her work in Hindi films and television series.
5. Neisha Sukhram, a Guyanese-American singer and songwriter born in 1990, who has gained recognition in the reggae and dancehall genres.
While the name Neisha may have evolved from its Sanskrit roots, it has gained popularity and recognition in various cultures and communities around the world, particularly in recent decades. The name's unique spelling and melodic sound have contributed to its appeal as a distinctive and modern name choice.
People
Neisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Neisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,041 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neisha 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 329,255 US residents.
Is Neisha a common name?
We classify Neisha as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Neisha was 1980, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neisha is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,334 people with the name Neisha, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,118 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 Neisha 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 Neisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,333 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Neisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neisha is Black at 43.3%. The next largest groups are White (23.5%) and Hispanic (21.8%). 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 Neisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Neisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.3% (577 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 Neisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neisha 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 Neisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neisha 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 Neisha 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 the name Neisha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.