Aiesha
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "alive" or "life."
Name Census estimates that about 1,213 living Americans carry the first name Aiesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aiesha today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aiesha births was 1991 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aiesha. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 282,567 Americans
Peak year
1991
91 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,307
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Aiesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aiesha from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 400 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aiesha 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 Aiesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aieshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. New York, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Aiesha, while Texas, New Jersey, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aiesha
The name Aiesha has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the 6th century CE. It is a feminine variant of the name Aisha, which means "alive" or "living" in Arabic. The name is closely associated with Aisha bint Abi Bakr, the third wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and one of the most influential figures in early Islamic history.
Aisha bint Abi Bakr, born around 614 CE in Mecca, was known for her intelligence, wit, and profound knowledge of Islamic teachings. She played a crucial role in the transmission and preservation of the Prophet's teachings and traditions, earning her the title of "Mother of the Believers." Her life and teachings have been documented in various Islamic texts, including the Hadith collections and biographical works.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aiesha can be found in the writings of the famous Arab scholar and historian, Ibn Ishaq (704-767 CE), who documented the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Over the centuries, the name gained popularity among Muslim communities worldwide, and several notable women have borne this name throughout history.
One such figure was Aiesha al-Taimuriya (1233-1290 CE), a Mamluk princess and scholar from Syria. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts and sciences and her contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of her time. Another notable bearer of the name was Aiesha al-Ba'uniyyah (1456-1516 CE), a Sufi mystic and poet from Yemen, whose works have been widely studied and celebrated in the Islamic world.
In the 19th century, Aiesha bint Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan (1838-1923) was a prominent figure in the United Arab Emirates. She was the wife of the founder of the Al Nahyan dynasty and played a significant role in the establishment of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
More recently, Aiesha Dutti (1908-1965) was an Indian educator and social reformer who dedicated her life to promoting women's education and empowerment. She founded several schools and institutions for girls and worked tirelessly to improve the status of women in society.
Throughout history, the name Aiesha has been associated with strong, influential women who have left their mark in various fields, ranging from religion and literature to politics and education. Its Arabic roots and connection to the life of the Prophet Muhammad's wife have contributed to its enduring popularity and significance within the Islamic world and beyond.
People
Aiesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aiesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aiesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aiesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aiesha 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 282,567 US residents.
Is Aiesha a common name?
We classify Aiesha as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aiesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Aiesha was 1991, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aiesha is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aiesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aiesha 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.
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.