Keishia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from the Irish name Caitlín.
Name Census estimates that about 240 living Americans carry the first name Keishia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Keishia today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keishia births was 1987 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keishia. 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
240
~ 1 in 1,428,143 Americans
Peak year
1987
17 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1996 SSA rank
#14,612
Tracked since 1968
Census
Keishia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 269 people with the first name Keishia, which placed it at #31,704 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
#31,704
National first-name rank
People counted
269
269 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Keishia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keishia is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Keishia 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 Keishia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.8% · 177
- White20.1% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 20
- Two or more races4.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Keishia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keishia from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 102 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Keishia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keishia 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 Keishia 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 Keishia
The name Keishia is a modern variant of the name Keisha, which has its origins in the African Swahili language. The name Keisha is derived from the Arabic word "qayyishah," meaning "beautiful" or "precious one." It was likely introduced to the Swahili language and culture through Arabic influence in East Africa.
The earliest recorded use of the name Keisha can be traced back to the 19th century in East African regions with significant Swahili-speaking populations. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the late 20th century, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Keishia was Keishia Georgette Kamāmalu, a Hawaiian royal who lived from 1911 to 1928. She was a descendant of the Hawaiian monarchy and held the title of Princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Another historical figure with the name Keishia was Keishia Townsel, an African-American civil rights activist born in 1942. She was a prominent figure in the Black Power movement and played a crucial role in advocating for equal rights and social justice.
In the literary world, Keishia Annya-Jones, a British author born in 1975, gained recognition for her novels exploring themes of identity, culture, and relationships. Her works, including "The Butterfly House" and "The Butterfly Effect," have received critical acclaim.
In the realm of sports, Keishia Marquise Tuima, a former American football player born in 1984, made a name for herself as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). She played for several teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons.
Lastly, Keishia Monique Vaughn, an American singer and songwriter born in 1971, achieved success in the music industry with her soulful R&B and neo-soul compositions. Her albums, such as "Keishia" and "Unconditional," showcased her vocal talents and garnered a dedicated fan base.
While the name Keishia has gained popularity in recent decades, its roots can be traced back to the Swahili language and Arabic influences in East Africa, reflecting the rich cultural diversity and historical connections between different regions and civilizations.
People
Keishia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keishia 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
Keishia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keishia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 240 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keishia 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 1,428,143 US residents.
Is Keishia a common name?
We classify Keishia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keishia most popular?
The single biggest year for Keishia was 1987, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keishia is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Keishia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 269 people with the name Keishia, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,704 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 Keishia 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 Keishia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Keishia appears almost entirely female. Of the 276 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Keishia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Keishia is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Keishia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Keishia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (177 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 Keishia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keishia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keishia 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 Keishia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keishia 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 Keishia 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 Keishia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.