Jilisa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of Julie and Lisa.
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Jilisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jilisa today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jilisa births was 1989 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jilisa. 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 Jilisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1989
12 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,635
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Jilisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jilisa from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Jilisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jilisa 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 Jilisa 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 Jilisa
The name Jilisa does not have a clear origin or recorded history. There are no known ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records that mention this name or provide insights into its etymology. The earliest recorded examples of people bearing this name are relatively recent and scarce.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Jilisa was Jilisa Milner, a British writer born in 1965. She is the author of several novels and short stories, including "The Seeker's Garden" (2001) and "The Mermaid's Child" (2007).
Another notable person with this name is Jilisa Milton, an American singer-songwriter born in 1978. She has released several albums, including "Deeply Rooted" (2005) and "Soulful" (2010), and is known for her blend of soul, R&B, and jazz genres.
In the field of sports, Jilisa Foster is a former American basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams like the Washington Mystics and the Phoenix Mercury between 2002 and 2009.
Jilisa Zoltko is a Canadian artist and sculptor born in 1972. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries across North America, and she is known for her unique use of materials such as metal and glass.
Lastly, Jilisa Rodríguez is a Venezuelan actress born in 1985. She has appeared in several television series and films, including the telenovela "Amor Sincero" (2012) and the movie "El Pasado" (2017).
While the name Jilisa is relatively uncommon, these individuals demonstrate its use across various professions and cultures. However, due to the lack of historical records, the true origin and meaning of this name remain uncertain.
People
Jilisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jilisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jilisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jilisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jilisa 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 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Jilisa a common name?
We classify Jilisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jilisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Jilisa was 1989, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jilisa is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jilisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jilisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jilisa 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 Jilisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jilisa 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 Jilisa 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Jilisa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.