Annisa
A feminine Arabic name meaning "friend and companion of the prophet Muhammad."
Name Census estimates that about 656 living Americans carry the first name Annisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Annisa today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Annisa births was 1969 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Annisa. 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 Annisa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
656
~ 1 in 522,491 Americans
Peak year
1969
26 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,354
Tracked since 1967
Census
Annisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 699 people with the first name Annisa, which placed it at #16,219 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
#16,219
National first-name rank
People counted
699
699 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
27.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Annisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annisa is Black at 27.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Hispanic (25.0%). 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 Annisa 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 Annisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American27.5% · 192
- White25.0% · 175
- Hispanic or Latino25.0% · 175
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.2% · 92
- Two or more races7.2% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 15
Popularity
Annisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Annisa from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 181 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
Annisa 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 Annisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Annisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Annisa, while New York, Arizona, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Annisa
The name Annisa originates from the Arabic language and culture, with roots tracing back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "uns," meaning "intimacy" or "familiarity," suggesting a sense of closeness and comfort.
In the Islamic tradition, Annisa is one of the names of the fourth chapter of the Quran, often referred to as "Surah An-Nisa" or "The Women." This chapter focuses on various aspects of family and social life, providing guidance on topics such as marriage, inheritance, and the treatment of women.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Annisa can be found in the historical texts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from the 8th to the 13th century CE. During this period, several notable figures bore the name, including Annisa bint Al-Mansur, the daughter of the renowned Abbasid caliph, Al-Mansur.
Throughout history, Annisa has been a name carried by several influential women. One such figure was Annisa al-Qurashiya, a renowned 9th-century CE poet from Basra, who was celebrated for her eloquence and literary prowess. Another notable bearer of the name was Annisa bint Ahmad al-Shatibi, a 14th-century CE scholar and jurist from Granada, Spain, known for her contributions to Islamic jurisprudence.
In the realm of literature, the name Annisa is also associated with Annisa al-Andalusiya, a 10th-century CE poet and writer from Andalusia, Spain. Her work, which encompassed both poetry and prose, was highly regarded during her time and reflected the rich cultural heritage of the Iberian Peninsula.
Other notable figures who bore the name Annisa include Annisa bint al-Hafiz, a 13th-century CE scholar and teacher from Damascus, who was renowned for her expertise in Hadith (Islamic traditions) and her dedication to educating women. Additionally, Annisa al-Malikiya, a 15th-century CE princess and patron of the arts from the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt, played a significant role in supporting the cultural and intellectual achievements of her era.
While these are just a few examples, the name Annisa has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields, from literature and scholarship to politics and the arts.
People
Annisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Annisa 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
Annisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Annisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 656 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Annisa 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 522,491 US residents.
Is Annisa a common name?
We classify Annisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 689 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Annisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Annisa was 1969, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Annisa is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Annisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 699 people with the name Annisa, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,219 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 Annisa 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 Annisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Annisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 694 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Annisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Annisa is Black at 27.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.0%) and Hispanic (25.0%). 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 Annisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Annisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 27.5% (192 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 Annisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Annisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Annisa 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 Annisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Annisa 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 Annisa 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 share the name Annisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.