Lanisha
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially a blend of several names.
Name Census estimates that about 1,178 living Americans carry the first name Lanisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lanisha today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lanisha births was 1983 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lanisha. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 290,963 Americans
Peak year
1983
62 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2015 SSA rank
#17,958
Tracked since 1971
Census
Lanisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 917 people with the first name Lanisha, which placed it at #13,247 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
#13,247
National first-name rank
People counted
917
917 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lanisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lanisha is Black at 87.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Lanisha 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 Lanisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.6% · 803
- White3.6% · 33
- Two or more races3.6% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 8
Popularity
Lanisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lanisha from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 457 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
Lanisha 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 Lanisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lanishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Lanisha, while North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lanisha
The given name Lanisha has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The name Lanisha is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "lagna," which means "auspicious time" or "moment of birth." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with astrology and the practice of determining auspicious times for important events based on celestial alignments.
In India, names often carry deep cultural and spiritual significance, and Lanisha is no exception. The name's connection to auspicious times and moments of birth may have been seen as a way to bestow blessings and good fortune upon the child bearing this name. It is possible that the name was used in ancient Hindu texts or religious scriptures, although concrete historical references are scarce.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lanisha can be traced back to the 19th century, particularly in regions of South Asia where Sanskrit-derived names were common. However, it was not until the mid-20th century that the name gained wider popularity, particularly in the United States, where it was embraced by African American communities.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Lanisha. One of the earliest recorded examples is Lanisha Khaira, an Indian singer and musician from the early 20th century who was renowned for her contributions to the classical Hindustani music tradition. Another notable figure was Lanisha Chatterjee, an acclaimed Indian novelist and poet who lived from 1922 to 2003 and explored themes of identity, culture, and women's experiences in her works.
In the realm of sports, Lanisha Rolle, a Bahamian track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, has made a name for herself. Lanisha Wright, an American professional basketball player born in 1988, has also achieved success in her field.
Additionally, Lanisha Cole, an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker born in 1976, has gained recognition for her work in promoting personal growth and empowerment, particularly within the African American community.
While the name Lanisha has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has evolved and gained popularity in various cultures and communities around the world, transcending its linguistic and cultural origins. Each individual bearing this name contributes to its legacy and adds their own unique chapter to its rich history.
People
Lanisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lanisha 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
Lanisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lanisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,178 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lanisha 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 290,963 US residents.
Is Lanisha a common name?
We classify Lanisha as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,240 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lanisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Lanisha was 1983, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lanisha 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 Lanisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 917 people with the name Lanisha, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,247 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 Lanisha 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 Lanisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lanisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 915 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Lanisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lanisha is Black at 87.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Lanisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lanisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (803 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 Lanisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lanisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lanisha 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 Lanisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lanisha 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 Lanisha 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 Lanisha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.