Falisa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Arabic roots.
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Falisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Falisa today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Falisa births was 1970 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Falisa. 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 Falisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
1970
11 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1989 SSA rank
#13,025
Tracked since 1964
Census
Falisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Falisa, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Falisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Falisa is Black at 66.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Falisa 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 Falisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.7% · 74
- White18.0% · 20
- Two or more races8.1% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
Popularity
Falisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Falisa from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 40 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
Falisa 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 Falisa 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 Falisa
The name Falisa is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with roots dating back to the 7th century AD. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "falees," which means "successful" or "prosperous." The name may have gained popularity during the early Islamic era, as many names were inspired by Arabic words and phrases that conveyed positive meanings or aspirations.
During the medieval period, the name Falisa was primarily used in regions with significant Arabic cultural influence, such as the Middle East and parts of North Africa. It is possible that the name appeared in historical records or manuscripts from that time, although specific references are difficult to trace with certainty.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Falisa was Falisa al-Andalusi, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 10th century in the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). She was known for her contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy, and her works were widely studied and referenced by scholars of her time.
In the 12th century, Falisa bint Al-Malik Al-Zahir, a princess from the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, was known for her patronage of the arts and literature. Her court in Cairo was a hub of cultural activity, attracting poets, musicians, and intellectuals from across the region.
During the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, Falisa Hatun was a prominent figure in the imperial harem. She was known for her influential role in the education and upbringing of several Ottoman princes, including the future Sultan Murad III.
In more recent times, Falisa al-Jarrah was a prominent Syrian writer and activist who lived in the early 20th century. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and education in the Arab world and published several influential works on these topics.
Falisa Eisley, an American artist and sculptor born in 1942, gained recognition for her large-scale public installations and sculptures that often explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human experience. Her works can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
While the name Falisa has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world over the centuries, carrying its unique historical and cultural significance.
People
Falisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Falisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Falisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Falisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Falisa 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Falisa a common name?
We classify Falisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Falisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Falisa was 1970, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Falisa is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Falisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Falisa, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Falisa 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 Falisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Falisa leans strongly female. 113 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Falisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Falisa is Black at 66.7%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Falisa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Falisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (74 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 Falisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Falisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Falisa 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 Falisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Falisa 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 Falisa 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 Falisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.