Leisha
A feminine name of Aboriginal Australian origin meaning "pretty woman".
Name Census estimates that about 1,851 living Americans carry the first name Leisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leisha today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leisha births was 1961 (144 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leisha. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 185,173 Americans
Peak year
1961
144 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,514
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Leisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leisha from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 816 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leisha 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 Leisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Texas, California, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Leisha, while Washington, Virginia, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leisha
The name Leisha is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, where it is a variation of the more common name Layla or Laila. The name Layla itself is derived from the Arabic word "lail," which means "night." This name has been in use since ancient times in the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Leisha can be found in medieval Arabic literature, where it appears as a character in several romantic poems and stories. The name gained popularity during the Islamic Golden Age, particularly in regions like Persia and Andalusia, where Arabic culture and language had a significant influence.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Leisha ibn al-Amin was a renowned scholar and philosopher from Cordoba, Spain. She made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy during the height of the Andalusian Renaissance.
Another historical figure with the name Leisha was Leisha al-Baghdadi, a renowned poet and calligrapher who lived in Baghdad during the 13th century. Her works were widely celebrated and influential in the literary circles of the time.
In the 16th century, Leisha bint Abdallah was a prominent scholar and teacher in the Ottoman Empire. She was known for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her efforts in promoting women's education.
During the 19th century, Leisha al-Misri was an Egyptian feminist and activist who campaigned for women's rights and educational reform. She established one of the first schools for girls in Cairo and played a crucial role in shaping the women's movement in Egypt.
While the name Leisha has its roots in Arabic culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over time. Its variations, such as Leisa, Laysha, or Leesha, can be found in different parts of the world, each with its own unique cultural context and meaning.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Leisha
People
Leisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leisha 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
Leisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,851 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leisha 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 185,173 US residents.
Is Leisha a common name?
We classify Leisha as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,090 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Leisha was 1961, when 144 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leisha is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leisha 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.
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.