Doneisha
A feminine name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 350 living Americans carry the first name Doneisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Doneisha today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Doneisha births was 1993 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Doneisha. 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
350
~ 1 in 979,298 Americans
Peak year
1993
29 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,377
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Doneisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Doneisha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 224 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
Doneisha 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 Doneisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Doneishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Doneisha, while Louisiana, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Doneisha
The name Doneisha is a relatively modern given name that appears to have originated in the late 20th century. It is likely a combination of the English names Donna and Neisha, or a variation of the name Danesha. While its exact origins are unclear, it is thought to be an African-American name.
There are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Doneisha. It does not seem to have any direct linguistic roots or derivations from older languages or cultures. As a modern name, the earliest recorded examples of its use can be traced back to the 1970s and 1980s in the United States.
One of the earliest notable people with the name Doneisha is Doneisha Brinson, an American actress born in 1988. She is known for her roles in films such as "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings" and "The Inkwell."
Another person with this name is Doneisha Chandler, an American basketball player born in 1988. She played college basketball for the University of South Carolina and had a brief professional career in Europe.
Doneisha Musgrove is an American singer and songwriter born in 1990. She has released several independent albums and singles, and is known for her work in the R&B and neo-soul genres.
Doneisha Brewer is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder, born in 1992. She won the Miss Arkansas Teen USA title in 2010 and competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant.
Doneisha Gallishaw is a Canadian track and field athlete born in 1994. She has represented Canada in international competitions, specializing in sprinting events.
While the name Doneisha has gained some prominence in recent decades, it is still a relatively uncommon name with no widespread historical significance or documented usage prior to the late 20th century.
People
Doneisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Doneisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Doneisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Doneisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 350 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Doneisha 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 979,298 US residents.
Is Doneisha a common name?
We classify Doneisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Doneisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Doneisha was 1993, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Doneisha is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Doneisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Doneisha 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.
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.