Lekisha
A feminine name of African origin meaning "bright, shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 846 living Americans carry the first name Lekisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lekisha today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lekisha births was 1980 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lekisha. 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 Lekisha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
846
~ 1 in 405,147 Americans
Peak year
1980
92 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1994 SSA rank
#11,238
Tracked since 1971
Census
Lekisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 647 people with the first name Lekisha, which placed it at #17,179 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
#17,179
National first-name rank
People counted
647
647 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lekisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lekisha is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Lekisha 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 Lekisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.8% · 555
- White5.7% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 24
- Two or more races3.1% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Lekisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lekisha from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 440 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
Lekisha 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 Lekisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lekishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Lekisha, while Ohio, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lekisha
The name Lekisha has its origins in the Yoruba language, which is spoken in parts of West Africa, primarily in Nigeria and the surrounding regions. The name is derived from the Yoruba words "Oleke" and "Isha," which together mean "one who is honored and respected."
In the Yoruba culture, names often carry deep cultural and spiritual significance, and Lekisha is no exception. The name is believed to bestow upon its bearer a sense of dignity, reverence, and a desire to be held in high esteem by others.
While the exact origins of the name are difficult to pinpoint, it is widely accepted that Lekisha emerged as a popular name among the Yoruba people during the 18th and 19th centuries. During this time, the Yoruba people experienced a cultural renaissance, and the naming traditions became more refined and symbolic.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Lekisha can be found in the writings of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba linguist and the first African Anglican bishop in Nigeria, who lived from 1809 to 1891. In his work, Crowther documented the Yoruba language and its naming traditions, providing valuable insights into the cultural significance of names like Lekisha.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lekisha, including:
1. Lekisha Battle (born 1977), an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA.
2. Lekisha Gunn (born 1984), an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA and overseas.
3. Lekisha Scott (born 1978), an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA and overseas.
4. Lekisha Jenkins (born 1983), an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA and overseas.
5. Lekisha Vicks (born 1977), an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA and overseas.
While the name Lekisha has its roots in the Yoruba culture, it has gained popularity across various cultures and communities around the world, particularly in the United States and other parts of the African diaspora. The name continues to be a source of pride and cultural identity for many who bear it, carrying with it a rich history and a profound sense of respect and honor.
People
Lekisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lekisha 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
Lekisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lekisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 846 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lekisha 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 405,147 US residents.
Is Lekisha a common name?
We classify Lekisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 914 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lekisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Lekisha was 1980, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lekisha 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 Lekisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 647 people with the name Lekisha, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,179 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 Lekisha 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 Lekisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lekisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 640 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 Lekisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lekisha is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Lekisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lekisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (555 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 Lekisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lekisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lekisha 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 Lekisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lekisha 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 Lekisha 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 are named Lekisha?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Lekisha at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.