Rakeisha
A feminine name of American origin, a variant of Keisha.
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the first name Rakeisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rakeisha today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rakeisha births was 1993 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rakeisha. 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.
People living today
175
~ 1 in 1,958,596 Americans
Peak year
1993
17 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,963
Tracked since 1976
Census
Rakeisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Rakeisha, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rakeisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rakeisha is Black at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.0% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
- Two or more races0.6% · 1
Popularity
Rakeisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rakeisha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 74 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
Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha
The given name Rakeisha is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the United States in the late 20th century. It does not appear to have direct linguistic roots in any specific language or culture, but rather seems to be a creative combination of sounds and syllables that have become popular in recent decades.
While the name Rakeisha itself does not have a long historical pedigree, it may draw some inspiration from the African American naming tradition of combining elements from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The prefix "Ra" could be a nod to ancient Egyptian names or the common African root "Ra" meaning "sun" or "light." The suffix "-keisha" may be influenced by names of Irish or Gaelic origin, such as Keisha or Keeley.
Rakeisha does not appear to have any documented references in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the late 20th century. Its use as a given name seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon, likely gaining popularity in the United States among African American communities in the latter half of the 20th century.
Due to the relatively modern nature of the name, there are limited examples of historical figures bearing the name Rakeisha. However, here are a few notable individuals who have carried this name:
1. Rakeisha Wilkinson, an American basketball player who played for the University of South Carolina in the early 2000s.
2. Rakeisha Gregory, an American actress and model known for her roles in television shows and films in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
3. Rakeisha Pittman, an American track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
4. Rakeisha Bell, an American professional boxer who competed in the lightweight division in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
5. Rakeisha Ricks, an American entrepreneur and founder of the hair care company Rakeisha's Hair Lounge, established in the early 2010s.
As the name Rakeisha is a relatively modern creation, its historical roots and usage are limited compared to more traditional names with deeper linguistic and cultural origins. However, its increasing popularity in recent decades reflects the evolving trends and influences in naming practices, particularly within African American communities.
People
Rakeisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rakeisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rakeisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rakeisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rakeisha 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 1,958,596 US residents.
Is Rakeisha a common name?
We classify Rakeisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rakeisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Rakeisha was 1993, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rakeisha is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rakeisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Rakeisha, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rakeisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 169 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 Rakeisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rakeisha is Black at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Rakeisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rakeisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (159 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 Rakeisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rakeisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rakeisha 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 Rakeisha 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 called Rakeisha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.