Lateesha
An English feminine name meaning "late arrival or late birth".
Name Census estimates that about 419 living Americans carry the first name Lateesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lateesha today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lateesha births was 1984 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lateesha. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lateesha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
419
~ 1 in 818,029 Americans
Peak year
1984
26 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,931
Tracked since 1972
Census
Lateesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 358 people with the first name Lateesha, which placed it at #26,164 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
#26,164
National first-name rank
People counted
358
358 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lateesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lateesha is Black at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and White (7.3%). 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 Lateesha 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 Lateesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.1% · 283
- Two or more races7.8% · 28
- White7.3% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
Popularity
Lateesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lateesha from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 202 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
Lateesha 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 Lateesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lateeshas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lateesha
The name Lateesha is a modern variation of the traditional African name Letitia, which has its roots in the Latin word "laetitia," meaning "joy" or "happiness." This name gained popularity during the Roman Empire and was often given to children as a symbol of the joy they brought to their families.
In its earliest form, the name Letitia was used by several notable figures in ancient Rome, including Letitia Magna, a Roman matron who lived in the 2nd century AD and was known for her philanthropic works. The name also appeared in various literary works of the time, such as the writings of Ovid and Virgil.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the name Letitia became associated with the concept of spiritual joy and was adopted by several early Christian saints. One of the most notable was Saint Letitia, a 3rd-century martyr who was executed for her faith during the reign of Emperor Aurelian.
During the Middle Ages, the name Letitia experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in France and England. It was often spelled as "Laetitia" or "Lettice," and was borne by several noblewomen, including Lettice Knollys, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, who lived from 1543 to 1634.
Over time, the name evolved into various regional variations, including the French "Létitia" and the English "Letitia." In the 20th century, the name Lateesha emerged as a modern African-American variation, reflecting the cultural influence and diversity of the United States.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lateesha or its variations, including:
1. Lateesha Naaké, a South African actress and television presenter born in 1984.
2. Letitia Wright, a Guyanese-British actress best known for her role as Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, born in 1993.
3. Letitia Baldrige, an American author and etiquette expert who served as the Social Secretary during the Kennedy administration, born in 1926 and died in 2012.
4. Letitia Elizabeth Landon, an English poet and novelist who lived from 1802 to 1838, known for her works of romantic poetry.
5. Letitia Fairbanks, an American silent film actress who appeared in several movies in the early 20th century, born in 1892 and died in 1923.
While the name Lateesha is a relatively modern variation, it carries a rich history and cultural significance, rooted in the concept of joy and happiness, and has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries.
People
Lateesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lateesha 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
Lateesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lateesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lateesha 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 818,029 US residents.
Is Lateesha a common name?
We classify Lateesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 446 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lateesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Lateesha was 1984, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lateesha is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lateesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 358 people with the name Lateesha, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,164 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 Lateesha 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 Lateesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lateesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 363 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Lateesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lateesha is Black at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and White (7.3%). 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 Lateesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lateesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (283 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 Lateesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lateesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lateesha 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 Lateesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lateesha 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 Lateesha 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 Americans are named Lateesha?
You can see how many Americans are named Lateesha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.