Laniece
Feminine name possibly of French origin meaning "born in the spring".
Name Census estimates that about 510 living Americans carry the first name Laniece. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laniece today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laniece births was 1994 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laniece. 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
510
~ 1 in 672,067 Americans
Peak year
1994
18 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2016 SSA rank
#12,382
Tracked since 1964
Census
Laniece in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 455 people with the first name Laniece, which placed it at #22,044 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
#22,044
National first-name rank
People counted
455
455 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laniece
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laniece is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Laniece 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 Laniece at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.4% · 334
- White13.6% · 62
- Two or more races6.4% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Laniece: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laniece from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 133 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laniece 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 Laniece during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lanieces live
Origin
Meaning and history of Laniece
The name Laniece is a distinctly modern and relatively uncommon given name. Its origins can be traced back to the late 20th century, when it emerged as a creative combination of the French name Lanier and the English suffix "-iece." This unique blending suggests an attempt to craft a name with a touch of European flair while maintaining an American sensibility.
Despite its recent coinage, the name Laniece carries echoes of older linguistic roots. The French component "Lanier" is derived from the Old French word "laner," meaning "wool beater" or "wool comber," a profession associated with the textile industry that was once prevalent in certain regions of France. This connection to a traditional craft lends the name a hint of historical significance.
While there are no definitive records of the name Laniece appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its relative novelty also means that it has yet to accumulate a substantial historical legacy. However, a handful of notable individuals have carried this name in recent decades, contributing to its growing recognition.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Laniece was Laniece Marie Gillespie, an American gospel singer and songwriter born in 1950. Her musical contributions, particularly in the realm of contemporary Christian music, have helped introduce the name to a wider audience.
Another prominent figure was Laniece Denise Davis, an American fashion designer and entrepreneur born in 1964. Her eponymous clothing line, which emphasized elegant and sophisticated styles, gained popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, further raising the profile of the name Laniece.
In the realm of sports, Laniece Tyniesha Stevenson, an American basketball player born in 1984, achieved recognition for her successful collegiate career at the University of South Carolina and her subsequent professional endeavors in the WNBA.
The name Laniece has also found its way into the literary world, with Laniece Yvonne Lewis, an American author and educator born in 1967, gaining recognition for her contributions to children's literature and her advocacy for literacy education.
Lastly, Laniece Tanya Jackson, an American actress and model born in 1975, has brought the name Laniece to the stage and screen, appearing in various television shows and films throughout her career.
While still relatively uncommon, the name Laniece has steadily gained a foothold in recent decades, carried by a diverse array of individuals who have helped shape its identity and contribute to its enduring legacy.
People
Laniece + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laniece 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
Laniece: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laniece?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 510 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laniece 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 672,067 US residents.
Is Laniece a common name?
We classify Laniece as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 539 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laniece most popular?
The single biggest year for Laniece was 1994, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laniece is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laniece in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 455 people with the name Laniece, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,044 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 Laniece 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 Laniece?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laniece appears almost entirely female. Of the 457 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 Laniece?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laniece is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Laniece most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Laniece in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.4% (334 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 Laniece in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laniece a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laniece 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 Laniece still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laniece 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 Laniece 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 have the name Laniece?
See how many people have the name Laniece on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.