Lakeesha
An invented feminine name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,266 living Americans carry the first name Lakeesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakeesha today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakeesha births was 1977 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakeesha. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 270,738 Americans
Peak year
1977
116 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2001 SSA rank
#16,768
Tracked since 1970
Census
Lakeesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,010 people with the first name Lakeesha, which placed it at #12,351 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
#12,351
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,010 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakeesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakeesha is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and White (3.4%). 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 Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.8% · 907
- Two or more races3.7% · 37
- White3.4% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
Popularity
Lakeesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakeesha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 747 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
Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lakeeshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Illinois, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Lakeesha, while Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lakeesha
The name Lakeesha is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the United States in the late 20th century. It does not have any direct etymological roots in ancient languages or cultures. The name appears to be a creative combination of sound patterns and syllables that evoke a sense of uniqueness and individuality.
While the precise origin of the name Lakeesha is uncertain, it is believed to have emerged as a variant of more traditional names like Keisha or Lakeisha, which themselves are thought to be derived from the Arabic name Qaisah. These names were adopted and reshaped within African American communities, reflecting a desire for cultural expression and identity.
There are no known historical references to the name Lakeesha in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. Its relatively recent coinage means that it does not have a long-standing presence in documented history. However, as the name gained popularity in the latter part of the 20th century, it has been borne by several notable individuals.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lakeesha is Lakeesha Randle, an American actress born in 1979. She is known for her roles in films such as "The Wood" (1999) and "Belly" (1998). Another prominent figure with the name is Lakeesha Ishmael, an American dancer and choreographer born in 1981, who has worked with artists like Beyoncé and Missy Elliott.
In the field of sports, Lakeesha Vaughn (born 1983) is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams like the Los Angeles Sparks and the Chicago Sky. Lakeesha Thompson (born 1987) is an American track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
One of the most well-known individuals with the name Lakeesha is Lakeesha Berri (born 1988), an American singer and songwriter who rose to prominence as a contestant on the reality television show "American Idol" in 2007.
While the name Lakeesha is relatively new and lacks a deep historical lineage, it has gained cultural significance and recognition in recent decades, reflecting the ever-evolving landscape of names and identities within modern societies.
People
Lakeesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakeesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakeesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakeesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,266 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakeesha 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 270,738 US residents.
Is Lakeesha a common name?
We classify Lakeesha as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,370 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakeesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakeesha was 1977, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakeesha is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakeesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,010 people with the name Lakeesha, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,351 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 Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakeesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,015 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Lakeesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakeesha is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and White (3.4%). 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 Lakeesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakeesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (907 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 Lakeesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakeesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha 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 Lakeesha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.