Arisha
A feminine name with Arabic origins meaning "lioness" or "throne".
Name Census estimates that about 925 living Americans carry the first name Arisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arisha today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arisha births was 2019 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arisha. 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 Arisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
925
~ 1 in 370,545 Americans
Peak year
2019
54 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,330
Tracked since 1972
Census
Arisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 754 people with the first name Arisha, which placed it at #15,301 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
#15,301
National first-name rank
People counted
754
754 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
71.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arisha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Arisha 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 Arisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander71.8% · 541
- Black or African American14.2% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 47
- White5.4% · 41
- Two or more races2.1% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Arisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arisha from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 404 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arisha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arisha 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 Arisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Arisha, while Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arisha
The name Arisha is of Arabic origin and is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "arish," which means "throne" or "canopy." The name is thought to have been bestowed upon individuals with a regal or noble bearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arisha can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and writers from the 8th and 9th centuries. These literary works often featured characters bearing the name, depicting them as individuals of great strength, wisdom, and grace.
In Islamic tradition, the name Arisha is not directly mentioned in religious scriptures or texts. However, it is believed to have gained popularity among Muslim communities due to its Arabic roots and the positive connotations associated with its meaning.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Arisha. One such individual was Arisha al-Qurashi, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in the 10th century AD. Her works were celebrated for their poetic excellence and profound insights into the human condition.
Another notable Arisha was Arisha al-Andalusi, a 12th-century mathematician and astronomer from the Iberian Peninsula. Her contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the development of algebraic equations, were significant and influential.
In the 14th century, Arisha al-Baghdadi was a prominent female physician who practiced in Baghdad, Iraq. She was renowned for her expertise in treating various ailments and was highly respected among her peers.
During the Ottoman Empire, Arisha Khanum was a prominent figure in the 16th century. She was a powerful and influential member of the imperial harem, known for her political acumen and her role in shaping the dynamics of the Ottoman court.
In the realm of literature, Arisha Nayar was a celebrated 17th-century poet from the Indian subcontinent. Her works, written in the Urdu and Persian languages, explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, earning her widespread acclaim.
These are just a few examples of the numerous individuals throughout history who have borne the name Arisha. While the name has its roots in the Arabic language, it has transcended cultural boundaries and been embraced by diverse communities, each adding their own unique interpretations and significance to its meaning.
People
Arisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arisha 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
Arisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 925 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arisha 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 370,545 US residents.
Is Arisha a common name?
We classify Arisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 940 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Arisha was 2019, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arisha is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 754 people with the name Arisha, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,301 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 Arisha 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 Arisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 758 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Arisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arisha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Arisha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Arisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (541 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 Arisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arisha 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 Arisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arisha 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 Arisha 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 called Arisha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.