Moneshia
A feminine given name, likely of French origin, though its meaning is uncertain.
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Moneshia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Moneshia today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moneshia births was 1991 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moneshia. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Moneshia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
1991
10 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
1998 SSA rank
#15,789
Tracked since 1979
Census
Moneshia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 93 people with the first name Moneshia, which placed it at #53,605 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
#53,605
National first-name rank
People counted
93
93 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
100.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moneshia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moneshia is Black at 100.0%. 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 Moneshia 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 Moneshia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American100.0% · 93
Popularity
Moneshia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moneshia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 37 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moneshia 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 Moneshia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Moneshia
The name Moneshia is a unique and intriguing given name that has its roots in ancient linguistic traditions. Its origins can be traced back to the Sumerian civilization, one of the earliest known civilizations in Mesopotamia, which flourished around 3500 BCE. The name is believed to have derived from the Sumerian word "mun-esh-ia," which translates to "the protector of the moon."
During the height of the Sumerian civilization, the moon played a significant role in their religious and cultural practices. The name Moneshia was likely bestowed upon individuals who were believed to have a special connection with the lunar deity or possessed qualities associated with the moon, such as wisdom, intuition, and cyclical renewal.
Historically, the name Moneshia has been associated with several influential figures, although records from that era are scarce and often fragmented. One notable mention is found in the ancient Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, where a character bearing a similar name is described as a wise advisor to the king.
As civilizations evolved and cultures intermingled, the name Moneshia underwent various transformations and adaptations. In ancient Greece, there are records of a philosopher named Monesia, who lived around the 5th century BCE and was renowned for her teachings on the harmony between the natural world and human existence.
During the Middle Ages, the name resurfaced in various forms across different regions. In the Byzantine Empire, a notable figure named Moneshia was recorded as a skilled physician and herbalist, renowned for her knowledge of medicinal plants and their healing properties.
Centuries later, in the 16th century, a woman named Moneshia was recognized as a skilled artist and illuminator of manuscripts in Renaissance Italy, her intricate works adorning the pages of many religious texts and historical documents.
In more recent times, Moneshia has been a name carried by several accomplished individuals, including Moneshia Portis, an American visual artist and sculptor known for her captivating installations exploring themes of identity and cultural heritage, born in 1976.
Another notable figure is Moneshia Dashiell, a trailblazing American educator and civil rights activist who dedicated her life to promoting equal educational opportunities for underprivileged communities, born in 1923 and passed away in 2010.
While the name Moneshia may not be as common as some other given names, its rich history and symbolic connections to ancient civilizations and powerful figures make it a name that carries a sense of mystery, wisdom, and resilience through the ages.
People
Moneshia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moneshia 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
Moneshia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moneshia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moneshia 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Moneshia a common name?
We classify Moneshia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 57 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moneshia most popular?
The single biggest year for Moneshia was 1991, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moneshia is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moneshia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 93 people with the name Moneshia, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,605 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 Moneshia 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 Moneshia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moneshia appears almost entirely female. Of the 103 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Moneshia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moneshia is Black at 100.0%. 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 Moneshia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Moneshia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (93 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 Moneshia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moneshia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moneshia 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 Moneshia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moneshia 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 Moneshia 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 Moneshia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.