Chelisa
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a spelling variation of Celisa.
Name Census estimates that about 85 living Americans carry the first name Chelisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chelisa today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chelisa births was 1989 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chelisa. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chelisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
85
~ 1 in 4,032,404 Americans
Peak year
1989
14 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1998 SSA rank
#14,595
Tracked since 1969
Census
Chelisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 137 people with the first name Chelisa, which placed it at #47,543 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
#47,543
National first-name rank
People counted
137
137 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chelisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chelisa is Black at 52.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Chelisa 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 Chelisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.6% · 72
- White32.1% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 11
- Two or more races3.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Chelisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chelisa from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 33 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chelisa 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 Chelisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chelisa
The name Chelisa is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was prevalent in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "chela," which means "disciple" or "student." It is believed that the name was first used to refer to female disciples or students of spiritual or religious teachers.
In ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas, there are references to the concept of a "chela" or "disciple." However, there are no specific mentions of the name Chelisa in these texts. It is possible that the name was derived from this concept and gained popularity over time.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Chelisa date back to the 16th century in parts of South Asia, particularly in regions that are now part of India and Nepal. During this period, the name was used among various Hindu communities, and it was often given to girls who were born into families of spiritual leaders or scholars.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chelisa. One of the earliest recorded examples is Chelisa Devi, a 16th-century Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher from the region of Bengal (now part of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India). She was renowned for her teachings on devotional worship and her influence on the Vaishnava tradition.
Another prominent figure was Chelisa Bai, a 17th-century Indian classical dancer and courtesan from the Deccan region (now part of Maharashtra and Karnataka). She was celebrated for her skill in the traditional dance forms of Kathak and Bharatanatyam and is considered a significant figure in the history of Indian dance.
In more recent times, Chelisa Fernandez (1928-2019) was a well-known Indian author and journalist who wrote extensively on social and cultural issues. She was also a prominent advocate for women's rights and education in India.
Additionally, Chelisa Agassi (born 1980) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who achieved success on the WTA Tour in the early 2000s. She is the sister of the renowned tennis player Andre Agassi.
Lastly, Chelisa Patel (born 1975) is a British actress and comedian known for her work in television shows like "Goodness Gracious Me" and "The Kumars at No. 42." She has been recognized for her contributions to British comedy and for her portrayal of diverse characters.
People
Chelisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chelisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chelisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chelisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chelisa 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 4,032,404 US residents.
Is Chelisa a common name?
We classify Chelisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 91 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chelisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Chelisa was 1989, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chelisa is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chelisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 137 people with the name Chelisa, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,543 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 Chelisa 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 Chelisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chelisa leans strongly female. 134 people counted with this name were female (97.1%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.9%). 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 Chelisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chelisa is Black at 52.6%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Chelisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chelisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.6% (72 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 Chelisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chelisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chelisa 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 Chelisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chelisa 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 Chelisa 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 Americans are named Chelisa?
Want to know how many people have the name Chelisa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.