Alnisa
Of Arabic origin, meaning "woman" or "distinguished woman".
Name Census estimates that about 259 living Americans carry the first name Alnisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alnisa today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alnisa births was 1975 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alnisa. 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
259
~ 1 in 1,323,376 Americans
Peak year
1975
22 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2008 SSA rank
#15,508
Tracked since 1968
Census
Alnisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Alnisa, which placed it at #35,041 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
#35,041
National first-name rank
People counted
231
231 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alnisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alnisa is Black at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Alnisa 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 Alnisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.3% · 211
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 8
- Two or more races3.0% · 7
- White2.2% · 5
Popularity
Alnisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alnisa from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 119 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
Alnisa 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 Alnisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alnisas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alnisa
The name Alnisa has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "nisa," which means "women" or "females." The prefix "al" is a definite article in Arabic, meaning "the," so the name Alnisa can be interpreted as "the woman" or "the female."
The earliest recorded use of the name Alnisa can be traced back to the medieval period in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions. It was a common name given to girls and women in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa, where Arabic was the predominant language and culture.
While the name Alnisa does not appear to have any direct references in ancient religious texts or historical records, its roots in the Arabic language suggest that it may have been used by Arab communities long before the medieval period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Alnisa was Alnisa bint Qais, a renowned 7th-century Arabian poet from the Banu Tamim tribe. She was known for her eloquent poetry and was celebrated for her wit and intelligence.
Another notable figure was Alnisa al-Baghdadiya, a 12th-century female scholar and writer from Baghdad. She was renowned for her expertise in various fields, including literature, philosophy, and Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 13th century, Alnisa bint al-Mutawakkil was a prominent Andalusian princess and poet who lived in the Emirate of Granada. Her poetry and literary works were highly acclaimed during her time.
During the 14th century, Alnisa bint Ibrahim al-Qurashi was a respected scholar and teacher in Cairo. She was known for her extensive knowledge of Islamic theology and her contributions to the field of education.
In the early 20th century, Alnisa al-Jalili was a Syrian activist and advocate for women's rights. She played a significant role in the women's movement in Syria and worked tirelessly to promote gender equality and education for women.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Alnisa. While the name may not be as common today, it has a rich cultural heritage and a long-standing presence in the Arabic-speaking world.
People
Alnisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alnisa 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
Alnisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alnisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 259 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alnisa 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 1,323,376 US residents.
Is Alnisa a common name?
We classify Alnisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alnisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Alnisa was 1975, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alnisa is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alnisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Alnisa, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,041 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 Alnisa 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 Alnisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alnisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 228 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 Alnisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alnisa is Black at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Alnisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Alnisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (211 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 Alnisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alnisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alnisa 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 Alnisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alnisa 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 Alnisa 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 Alnisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.