Tisha
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "thirsting for knowledge".
Name Census estimates that about 8,613 living Americans carry the first name Tisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tisha today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tisha births was 1971 (868 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tisha. 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 Tisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.6K
~ 1 in 39,795 Americans
Peak year
1971
868 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,879
Tracked since 1886
Census
Tisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,558 people with the first name Tisha, which placed it at #2,738 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
#2,738
National first-name rank
People counted
8.6K
8,558 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tisha is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Tisha 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 Tisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.3% · 4,480
- Black or African American28.2% · 2,416
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 592
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 469
- Two or more races5.0% · 431
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 170
Popularity
Tisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tisha from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 5,076 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tisha 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 Tisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Tisha, while Massachusetts, Idaho, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 179 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tisha
The name Tisha is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is the classical language of South Asia, particularly India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Tishya," which means "auspicious" or "fortunate." The name is commonly associated with the Hindu and Buddhist cultures, where it has been in use for centuries.
In Sanskrit literature, the name Tisha is mentioned in several ancient texts and scriptures. One notable reference can be found in the Mahabharata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The name is associated with the character of Tishya, who was a princess and the daughter of the king Virata.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Tisha can be traced back to the ancient Indian subcontinent. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time period or specific individuals who bore this name in ancient times due to the scarcity of reliable historical records.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Tisha. One of the most famous was Tisha Khama (born in 1857 - died in 1892), an Indian freedom fighter who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. She was a prominent figure in the Chittagong region of present-day Bangladesh.
Another notable Tisha was Tisha Edmunds (born in 1972), an American actress and model who has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "Hitch" and "Torque."
In the world of literature, Tisha Walia (born in 1983) is a renowned Indian author and poet who has written several books, including "My Ephemeral Musings" and "Saudade."
Tisha Black (born in 1966) is an American singer and songwriter who has released several albums and is known for her work in the alternative rock and indie rock genres.
Tisha Khera (born in 1981) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who has performed and taught Kathak, one of the major classical dance forms of India, around the world.
It is important to note that while the name Tisha has its roots in Sanskrit and the Indian subcontinent, it has gained popularity and usage in various cultures and regions worldwide, particularly in the West.
People
Tisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,613 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tisha 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 39,795 US residents.
Is Tisha a common name?
We classify Tisha as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,533 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Tisha was 1971, when 868 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tisha is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,558 people with the name Tisha, or 2.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,738 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 Tisha 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 Tisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,558 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Tisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tisha is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Tisha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.3% (4,480 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 Tisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tisha 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 Tisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tisha 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 Tisha 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 Tisha?
Find out how many Americans are named Tisha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.