Marquesha
A feminine name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Marquesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marquesha today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marquesha births was 1993 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marquesha. 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
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
1993
44 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2008 SSA rank
#16,759
Tracked since 1980
Census
Marquesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 356 people with the first name Marquesha, which placed it at #26,232 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
#26,232
National first-name rank
People counted
356
356 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marquesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquesha is Black at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and White (2.5%). 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 Marquesha 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 Marquesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.2% · 321
- Two or more races4.5% · 16
- White2.5% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Marquesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marquesha from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 290 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marquesha 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 Marquesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marqueshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Mississippi, Texas recorded the most babies named Marquesha, while Illinois, Texas, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marquesha
The name Marquesha is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans multiple cultures and regions. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Carthaginian civilization, which flourished in North Africa during the 5th century BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Punic language, a Semitic tongue spoken by the Carthaginians, and is thought to have been constructed from the roots "mrq" and "shh," which translate to "precious" and "pearl," respectively.
As the Carthaginian empire expanded its reach across the Mediterranean, the name Marquesha likely spread to various regions under their influence. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a Punic inscription from the 3rd century BCE, discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Carthage.
During the Roman era, the name appears to have gained some traction among the Latin-speaking population of the Roman Empire. A notable figure bearing this name was Marquesha Claudia, a wealthy Roman matron who lived in the 1st century CE and was renowned for her philanthropic endeavors.
In the Middle Ages, the name Marquesha surfaced in various forms across Europe, possibly introduced through the cultural exchange facilitated by trade routes and conquests. One such example is Marquesha of Toulouse, a 12th-century noblewoman who played a pivotal role in the governance of the County of Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade.
As empires rose and fell, the name Marquesha continued to make its mark in different parts of the world. In the 16th century, Marquesha al-Baghdadi was a celebrated poet and scholar in the Ottoman Empire, whose works were widely acclaimed for their eloquence and depth.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, we encounter Marquesha Khambatta, an influential figure in the Indian independence movement. Born in 1875, she was a staunch advocate for women's rights and played an instrumental role in the formation of the All India Women's Conference.
Throughout its long and diverse history, the name Marquesha has been borne by numerous individuals from various walks of life, each leaving their unique imprint on the tapestry of human civilization.
People
Marquesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marquesha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marquesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marquesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marquesha 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 754,966 US residents.
Is Marquesha a common name?
We classify Marquesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 471 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marquesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Marquesha was 1993, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marquesha is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marquesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 356 people with the name Marquesha, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,232 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 Marquesha 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 Marquesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marquesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 357 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 Marquesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquesha is Black at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and White (2.5%). 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 Marquesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marquesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (321 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 Marquesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marquesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marquesha 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 Marquesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marquesha 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 Marquesha 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 Marquesha?
See how many people have the name Marquesha on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.