Keesha
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a diminutive form of Keisha.
Name Census estimates that about 2,504 living Americans carry the first name Keesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keesha today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keesha births was 1977 (164 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keesha. 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
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,883 Americans
Peak year
1977
164 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,642
Tracked since 1964
Popularity
Keesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keesha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,269 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
Keesha 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 Keesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keeshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Keesha, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keesha
The name Keesha is believed to have its origins in the African American community, where it emerged as a variation of the more traditional name Keisha. The precise etymology is unclear, but it is thought to be derived from a combination of the Irish name Keisha and the English name Kisha.
One theory suggests that Keesha may have evolved from the name Keziah, a biblical name of Hebrew origin meaning "cassia tree" or "cinnamon." This name was relatively common among African American families in the 19th century and may have influenced the development of Keesha as a distinct variant.
The earliest recorded use of the name Keesha dates back to the late 20th century, with a notable increase in popularity in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. This coincided with a broader trend of creating unique and creative names within the African American community.
While Keesha is not a name found in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been borne by several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Keesha Sharp, an American actress born in 1973, known for her roles in popular television shows such as Girlfriends and Lethal Weapon.
Another prominent figure named Keesha was Keesha Prioleau, a professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams, including the Houston Comets and the Detroit Shock, during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In the music industry, Keesha is the name of a British singer and songwriter born in 1987, known for her collaborations with various artists in the UK grime and R&B scenes.
Outside of entertainment, Keesha Gaskins-Nathan is a notable American lawyer and legal scholar who served as the Director of the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Social Change at the State University of New York at Albany in the early 2000s.
Lastly, Keesha Lewis was a prominent figure in the field of education, serving as the Executive Director of the Uncommon Schools network of public charter schools in Newark, New Jersey, from 2011 to 2018.
While the name Keesha may have relatively recent origins, it has gained widespread recognition and has been borne by individuals across various fields, reflecting its growing popularity and cultural significance within the African American community.
People
Keesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keesha 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
Keesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,504 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keesha 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 136,883 US residents.
Is Keesha a common name?
We classify Keesha as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,708 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Keesha was 1977, when 164 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keesha is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Keesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keesha 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.