Quisha
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a novel creation.
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Quisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Quisha today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quisha births was 1984 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quisha. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Quisha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
1984
12 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1992 SSA rank
#12,934
Tracked since 1972
Census
Quisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 163 people with the first name Quisha, which placed it at #43,340 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
#43,340
National first-name rank
People counted
163
163 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quisha is Black at 79.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Quisha 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 Quisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.1% · 129
- White8.6% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 10
- Two or more races3.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 4
Popularity
Quisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quisha 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 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Quisha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quisha 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 Quisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Quisha
The name Quisha has its origins in the Quechua language, spoken by the indigenous people of the Andean regions of South America, particularly in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The Quechua language has been in use since the time of the Inca Empire, which flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Quisha is believed to be derived from the Quechua word "qishu," which means "strong" or "courageous." This suggests that the name may have been given to children with the hope that they would grow up to possess these admirable qualities.
While there are no known references to the name Quisha in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used by the Quechua people for generations before being recorded in written form.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Quisha can be found in the 17th century, when a Quechua woman named Quisha Tupac was mentioned in Spanish colonial records from Peru. Tupac was a noble title used by the Inca rulers, indicating that Quisha Tupac may have been a woman of high social standing.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Quisha. In the 19th century, Quisha Quispi was a Quechua leader who played a significant role in the resistance against the Spanish colonizers in Peru.
Another notable Quisha was Quisha Huaman, a Peruvian artist and activist who lived in the early 20th century. She was renowned for her vibrant paintings depicting the lives and struggles of the indigenous people of the Andes.
In the realm of literature, Quisha Chura was a Quechua poet and writer who gained recognition in the late 20th century for her works that celebrated the rich cultural heritage of her people.
Quisha Quispe, born in 1962, is a contemporary Quechua musician and composer who has contributed immensely to preserving and promoting the traditional music of the Andes.
Lastly, Quisha Yupanqui, born in 1975, is a renowned Peruvian chef who has gained international acclaim for her innovative fusion of Quechua culinary traditions with modern cooking techniques.
While the name Quisha may not be as widely known as some other names, its deep roots in the Quechua culture and its association with strength, courage, and resistance make it a name with a rich and fascinating history.
People
Quisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quisha 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 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Quisha a common name?
We classify Quisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Quisha was 1984, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quisha is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Quisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 163 people with the name Quisha, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,340 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 Quisha 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 Quisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Quisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 158 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 Quisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quisha is Black at 79.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Quisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Quisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (129 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 Quisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quisha 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 Quisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quisha 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 Quisha 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 Quisha?
Want to know how many people share the name Quisha? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.