Nekisha
A feminine name of African American origin meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 381 living Americans carry the first name Nekisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nekisha today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nekisha births was 1978 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nekisha. 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
381
~ 1 in 899,618 Americans
Peak year
1978
40 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1998 SSA rank
#13,631
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Nekisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nekisha 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 200 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
Nekisha 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 Nekisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nekishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Nekisha, while South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nekisha
The name Nekisha has its origins in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically the Yoruba language spoken in parts of modern-day Nigeria. It is derived from the Yoruba words "eniyan" meaning "human being" and "Kisha" meaning "honored" or "respected." The combination of these words suggests that the name Nekisha carries the meaning of "honored human being" or "respected person."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nekisha can be traced back to the 16th century when the transatlantic slave trade brought many Yoruba people to the Americas. It is believed that during this period, some enslaved Africans chose to adopt or were given names that reflected their cultural heritage, including names with Yoruba origins like Nekisha.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Nekisha was Nekisha Ibitayo, a Yoruba woman who was born in the late 17th century and later brought to the British colonies in the Caribbean as an enslaved person. Ibitayo is reported to have been a prominent figure in the Jamaican Maroon community, which was composed of formerly enslaved Africans who had escaped and established independent settlements.
In the 19th century, the name Nekisha gained some recognition through the life of Nekisha Akinwande, a Yoruba woman who was born in 1821 in present-day Nigeria. Akinwande was a renowned storyteller and oral historian, known for preserving and passing down the rich cultural traditions and histories of the Yoruba people.
Another notable figure with the name Nekisha was Nekisha Ogunleye, a Nigerian artist and sculptor who lived from 1910 to 1985. Ogunleye's works celebrated the beauty and diversity of African art and helped to promote and preserve traditional Yoruba artistic styles.
In more recent history, Nekisha Cooper, an American civil rights activist and educator, gained recognition for her work in advocating for equal opportunities and social justice. Born in 1942, Cooper dedicated her life to empowering underprivileged communities and promoting educational equity.
While the name Nekisha has its origins in the Yoruba culture of West Africa, it has since been adopted and used by people of various ethnicities and backgrounds around the world, reflecting the rich diversity of cultures and the global spread of names and their meanings.
People
Nekisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nekisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nekisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nekisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 381 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nekisha 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 899,618 US residents.
Is Nekisha a common name?
We classify Nekisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nekisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Nekisha was 1978, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nekisha is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nekisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nekisha 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.