Marquisha
A feminine name of French origin meaning "little one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,257 living Americans carry the first name Marquisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marquisha today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marquisha births was 1993 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marquisha. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 272,676 Americans
Peak year
1993
97 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2011 SSA rank
#18,569
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Marquisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marquisha from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 653 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
Marquisha 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 Marquisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marquishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, California, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Marquisha, while Pennsylvania, Missouri, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marquisha
The given name Marquisha is a modern African American creation, emerging in the late 20th century. Its origins can be traced back to a combination of the French prefix "mar-" and the English word "queen". The prefix "mar-" is derived from the Latin word "mare", meaning sea or ocean, while "queen" refers to a female monarch or sovereign ruler.
Marquisha is believed to have been coined as a unique and distinctive name, inspired by the growing cultural movement in the United States to embrace African American heritage and identity through names. It reflects a desire to bestow upon a child a name that conveys strength, power, and regal qualities.
Although a relatively new name, Marquisha has gained popularity within the African American community, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in birth records from the 1970s and 1980s.
Notably, Marquisha Shepherd was a professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks in the early 2000s. Another individual bearing this name is Marquisha Keeys, a track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, representing the United States.
Marquisha Deshauna Brilliant was a notable figure in the field of education, serving as a teacher and advocate for underprivileged children in Chicago during the late 20th century. Her efforts to promote literacy and provide educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth earned her widespread recognition and several accolades.
In the realm of literature, Marquisha Latrice Johnson is an acclaimed author and poet, known for her poignant works exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the African American experience. Her first collection of poems, "Voices Unbound," published in 2005, received critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Another notable figure is Marquisha Lashay Evens, a renowned civil rights activist and community organizer who played a pivotal role in the fight for racial equality and social justice in the late 20th century. Her influential work and advocacy efforts left an enduring impact on the civil rights movement.
People
Marquisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marquisha 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
Marquisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marquisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,257 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marquisha 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 272,676 US residents.
Is Marquisha a common name?
We classify Marquisha as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,314 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marquisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Marquisha was 1993, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marquisha is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marquisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marquisha 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.