Isia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Isia. It is a predominantly female name (93.2% of registrations). The average person named Isia today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isia births was 2022 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isia. 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 Isia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
2022
10 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2000 SSA rank
#10,565
Tracked since 2000
Census
Isia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 272 people with the first name Isia, which placed it at #31,478 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
#31,478
National first-name rank
People counted
272
272 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
44.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isia is Hispanic at 44.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.7%) and White (12.5%). 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 Isia 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 Isia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino44.5% · 121
- Black or African American35.7% · 97
- White12.5% · 34
- Two or more races3.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Isia
Isia leans heavily female at 93.2% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Isia as a male name
- Ranked #11,055 in 2000
- 5 male births in 2000
- Peak: 2000 (5 births)
Isia as a female name
- Ranked #10,565 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Isia on both sides of the split. Of the 272 people counted with this name, 158 were male (58.1%) and 114 were female (41.9%).
Popularity
Isia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isia from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, 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
Isia 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 Isia 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 Isia
The name Isia originates from Ancient Greece, where it was a feminine form of the name Isidorus, derived from the Greek words "isis" meaning "equal" and "doron" meaning "gift." The name Isia was thus interpreted to mean "equal gift" or "gift of equality."
In Greek mythology, Isia was associated with the goddess Isis, the powerful Egyptian deity of fertility, magic, and motherhood. The cult of Isis was widespread in the ancient Mediterranean world, and her worship influenced many aspects of Greek and Roman culture.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Isia was a Byzantine noblewoman and saint from the 9th century AD. Saint Isia of Lesbos was known for her piety, charity, and devotion to the Christian faith. She established a convent on the island of Lesbos and is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
During the Renaissance period, Isia was a relatively uncommon name, but it gained some prominence in the 16th century. Isia Monti (1508-1569) was an Italian Renaissance poet and scholar from Verona, renowned for her elegant Latin verses and her patronage of the arts.
In the 18th century, Isia Bassi (1760-1840) was an Italian sculptor and one of the few female artists of her time to achieve international recognition. Her works, including busts and allegorical figures, were celebrated for their technical mastery and classical style.
In the 19th century, Isia Mikhailovna Fal'kovskaya (1845-1891) was a Russian writer and playwright. She was a prominent figure in the literary circles of St. Petersburg and was known for her plays and short stories that explored themes of social injustice and the plight of women in Russian society.
Another notable bearer of the name Isia was the Greek-American painter and sculptor Isia Theodorescu (1887-1960). Born in Romania, she immigrated to the United States and became an influential figure in the American modernist art movement, known for her vibrant abstract compositions and innovative use of materials.
People
Isia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Isia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isia 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 Isia a common name?
We classify Isia 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, 73 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isia most popular?
The single biggest year for Isia was 2022, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isia is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 272 people with the name Isia, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,478 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 Isia 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 Isia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Isia on both sides of the split. Of the 272 people counted with this name, 158 were male (58.1%) and 114 were female (41.9%). 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 Isia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isia is Hispanic at 44.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.7%) and White (12.5%). 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 Isia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Isia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.5% (121 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 Isia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isia a female name?
Yes, 93.2% of people registered as Isia 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 Isia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isia 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 Isia 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 common is the name Isia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.