Aleisha
Feminine variation of the Scottish name Alison, meaning "noble" or "exalted."
Name Census estimates that about 2,862 living Americans carry the first name Aleisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aleisha today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aleisha births was 1989 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aleisha. 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 Aleisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,760 Americans
Peak year
1989
122 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,436
Tracked since 1961
Census
Aleisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,608 people with the first name Aleisha, which placed it at #6,208 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
#6,208
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,608 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aleisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleisha is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Hispanic (13.2%). 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 Aleisha 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 Aleisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.4% · 1,209
- Black or African American32.1% · 836
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 343
- Two or more races5.1% · 134
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 34
Popularity
Aleisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aleisha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 961 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
Aleisha 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 Aleisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aleishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Michigan recorded the most babies named Aleisha, while Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aleisha
The given name Aleisha is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to ancient times. It is a variation of the name Alicia or Alisha, which is derived from the Arabic name "Al-'Aliyyah," meaning "the exalted" or "the noble one."
In the early Islamic era, the name Al-'Aliyyah was often used to refer to individuals of high social status or noble lineage. As Arabic culture and influence spread across various regions, the name evolved into different spellings and variations, including Aleisha.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aleisha can be found in historical documents from the medieval period in the Middle East. It appeared occasionally in records of prominent families and noble households, reflecting the name's association with nobility and prestige.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aleisha. For instance, Aleisha Fazal (1972-), an Indian-Canadian journalist and author, gained recognition for her work on human rights and social justice issues. Another prominent figure was Aleisha Adamo (1986-), an Australian professional tennis player who achieved success on the WTA Tour in the early 2000s.
In the realm of literature, Aleisha Browne (1952-2018) was a celebrated British poet and playwright, known for her poignant works exploring themes of identity and cultural diversity. Her literary contributions earned her multiple awards and accolades during her lifetime.
The name Aleisha also found its way into historical records in the Middle Ages. One notable example is Aleisha al-Quraishi (1127-1198), a renowned female scholar and poet from Baghdad, who was highly respected for her intellectual pursuits and contributions to literature during the Abbasid Caliphate.
Additionally, Aleisha Khan (1868-1942) was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement, known for her activism and involvement in the struggle against British colonial rule. Her unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom earned her a place in the annals of Indian history.
While the name Aleisha has evolved over time and across different cultures, its roots can be traced back to the Arabic language and the rich historical legacy of the Middle East. The name continues to be cherished and embraced by families worldwide, carrying with it a sense of nobility and exaltation.
People
Aleisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aleisha 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
Aleisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aleisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,862 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aleisha 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 119,760 US residents.
Is Aleisha a common name?
We classify Aleisha as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,999 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aleisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Aleisha was 1989, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aleisha is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aleisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,608 people with the name Aleisha, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,208 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 Aleisha 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 Aleisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aleisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,600 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 Aleisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleisha is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Hispanic (13.2%). 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 Aleisha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aleisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (1,209 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 Aleisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aleisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aleisha 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 Aleisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aleisha 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 Aleisha 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 have Aleisha as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Aleisha, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.