Meesha
An Arabic feminine name meaning "life-giver" or "source of life".
Name Census estimates that about 344 living Americans carry the first name Meesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meesha today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meesha births was 1990 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meesha. 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 Meesha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
344
~ 1 in 996,379 Americans
Peak year
1990
21 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,746
Tracked since 1969
Census
Meesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 376 people with the first name Meesha, which placed it at #25,264 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
#25,264
National first-name rank
People counted
376
376 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
32.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meesha is Black at 32.4%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.5%). 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 Meesha 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 Meesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American32.4% · 122
- White27.7% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.5% · 92
- Two or more races10.1% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Popularity
Meesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meesha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 94 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Meesha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meesha 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 Meesha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meeshas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meesha
The name Meesha has its origins in the Hindi language and culture of India. It is a diminutive form of the name Meena, which is derived from the Sanskrit word "mina" meaning fish or star. This name is believed to have been in use since ancient times, as it is mentioned in various Hindu scriptures and texts.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Meesha can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem written between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. In this text, Meesha is mentioned as the name of a character, though little is known about their specific role or significance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Meesha. One such person was Meesha I, a king of the ancient Moabite kingdom located in modern-day Jordan, who ruled in the 9th century BCE. He is known for erecting the Mesha Stele, a significant archaeological artifact that provides valuable insights into the history and culture of the region.
In more recent times, Meesha Shafi (born 1986) is a Pakistani actress, model, and television host who has gained popularity for her work in Pakistani television dramas and films. She has been recognized with several awards for her contributions to the entertainment industry.
Another notable bearer of the name is Meesha Mainster (born 1984), an American professional basketball player who has played in the WNBA and internationally. She was a standout player at the University of Florida and has represented the United States in various international competitions.
Meesha Rahmani (born 1990) is an Afghan-American singer and songwriter who has gained recognition for her fusion of traditional Afghan music with modern influences. Her music often explores themes of identity, culture, and social issues, and she has been praised for her unique style and powerful voice.
Lastly, Meesha Paek (born 1992) is a South Korean golfer who has competed on the LPGA Tour and other professional golf circuits. She has won multiple tournaments and has been ranked among the top golfers in the world.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Meesha, highlighting its diverse cultural roots and the various fields in which it has been represented.
People
Meesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meesha 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
Meesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 344 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meesha 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 996,379 US residents.
Is Meesha a common name?
We classify Meesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Meesha was 1990, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meesha is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 376 people with the name Meesha, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,264 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 Meesha 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 Meesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meesha leans strongly female. 376 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Meesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meesha is Black at 32.4%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.5%). 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 Meesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Meesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.4% (122 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 Meesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meesha 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 Meesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meesha 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 Meesha 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 called Meesha?
You can see how many people share the name Meesha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.