Nikesha
A feminine name of modern origin and uncertain meaning, possibly derived from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Nikesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nikesha today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikesha births was 1977 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikesha. 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 Nikesha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
1977
48 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1995 SSA rank
#9,329
Tracked since 1971
Census
Nikesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 436 people with the first name Nikesha, 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
83.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikesha is Black at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and White (5.3%). 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 Nikesha 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 Nikesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.5% · 364
- Two or more races6.2% · 27
- White5.3% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Popularity
Nikesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikesha from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 206 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
Nikesha 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 Nikesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikeshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Nikesha, while Ohio, New York, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikesha
The name Nikesha is believed to have its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "nikesh," which means "hairlock" or "braid." This linguistic root suggests that the name may have been initially associated with a person's physical appearance, specifically their hair.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, there are references to deities and mythological figures adorned with intricate hairstyles, some of which involved braids or hairlocks. While there is no definitive evidence linking the name Nikesha directly to these texts, the cultural context suggests a possible connection between the name and the symbolic significance of hair in Hindu traditions.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nikesha can be traced back to the medieval period in South Asia, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its derivatives were widely spoken. One notable individual bearing this name was Nikesha Bhatta, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and philosopher who lived in the 17th century CE. Bhatta made significant contributions to the study of Hindu jurisprudence and authored several influential works on Dharmashastra, the Hindu code of conduct.
Another historical figure with the name Nikesha was Nikesha Devi, a Hindu queen who ruled over the princely state of Gohad in central India during the late 18th century. Devi was known for her patronage of the arts and her efforts to promote cultural and educational initiatives within her kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Nikesha Mukherjee was a prominent Bengali novelist and short story writer who lived from 1890 to 1977. Her works often explored themes of social injustice, women's rights, and the complexities of human relationships, earning her critical acclaim and a dedicated readership.
Nikesha Patel, born in 1985, is a contemporary Indian actress and model who has appeared in numerous Bollywood and Tollywood films. Her performances in movies such as "Chatrapathi" and "Raman Raghav 2.0" have garnered her a loyal fan base and recognition within the Indian film industry.
Lastly, Nikesha Breeze is a contemporary American singer and songwriter known for her soulful and powerful vocal style. Born in 1988, Breeze has released several albums and has collaborated with notable artists in the R&B and neo-soul genres, earning critical acclaim for her unique sound and lyrical depth.
People
Nikesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikesha 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
Nikesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikesha 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 795,254 US residents.
Is Nikesha a common name?
We classify Nikesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 464 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikesha was 1977, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikesha is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 436 people with the name Nikesha, 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 Nikesha 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 Nikesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 428 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Nikesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikesha is Black at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and White (5.3%). 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 Nikesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nikesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (364 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 Nikesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikesha 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 Nikesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikesha 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 Nikesha 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 Nikesha?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Nikesha at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.