Kaneshia
A female name of West African origin meaning "survivor".
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Kaneshia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaneshia today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaneshia births was 1990 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaneshia. 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
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
1990
80 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1999 SSA rank
#10,837
Tracked since 1973
Census
Kaneshia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 394 people with the first name Kaneshia, which placed it at #24,446 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
#24,446
National first-name rank
People counted
394
394 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaneshia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaneshia is Black at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and White (1.8%). 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 Kaneshia 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 Kaneshia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.9% · 370
- Two or more races2.8% · 11
- White1.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kaneshia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaneshia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 260 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
Kaneshia 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 Kaneshia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaneshias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas recorded the most babies named Kaneshia, while Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaneshia
The given name Kaneshia is a relatively modern name with uncertain origins. It is believed to have emerged in the 20th century, likely as a variant or combination of other existing names.
One possible source is the name Kaneesha, which is a feminine name of African-American origin. Kaneesha itself is thought to be a blend of the names Kaniya and Keisha, both of which have roots in various African languages.
Another potential influence is the name Kanesha or Kaneesha, which may have originated as a variant of the Hebrew name Kinah, meaning "to lament" or "to chant." However, the connection between Kaneshia and these Hebrew roots is tenuous.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Kaneshia are relatively recent, with the first known instances appearing in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century. It is unclear if the name has any specific cultural or ethnic significance beyond its potential African-American and Hebrew influences.
Notable individuals named Kaneshia throughout history are scarce, as the name itself is relatively new. However, a few examples can be found:
1. Kaneshia Knight, an American basketball player born in 1988, who played in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks.
2. Kaneshia Renee, an American singer and songwriter born in 1982, known for her work in the R&B and hip-hop genres.
3. Kaneshia Sylvester, an American track and field athlete born in 1989, who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter hurdles.
4. Kaneshia Nicole Townsend, an American model and actress born in 1983, known for her work in various television shows and music videos.
5. Kaneshia Ellington, an American basketball player born in 1991, who played professionally in Europe and Australia.
While the name Kaneshia is relatively new and lacks a deep historical background, it has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly within certain cultural communities in the United States.
People
Kaneshia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaneshia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaneshia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaneshia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaneshia 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 795,254 US residents.
Is Kaneshia a common name?
We classify Kaneshia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 452 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaneshia most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaneshia was 1990, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaneshia is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaneshia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 394 people with the name Kaneshia, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,446 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 Kaneshia 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 Kaneshia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaneshia appears almost entirely female. Of the 389 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kaneshia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaneshia is Black at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and White (1.8%). 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 Kaneshia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kaneshia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (370 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 Kaneshia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaneshia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaneshia 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 Kaneshia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaneshia 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 Kaneshia 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 named Kaneshia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.