Nieshia
Of unknown origin and meaning, a feminine name variation derived from Nisha.
Name Census estimates that about 152 living Americans carry the first name Nieshia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nieshia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nieshia births was 1989 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nieshia. 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
152
~ 1 in 2,254,963 Americans
Peak year
1989
15 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1996 SSA rank
#15,159
Tracked since 1976
Census
Nieshia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 133 people with the first name Nieshia, which placed it at #48,223 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
#48,223
National first-name rank
People counted
133
133 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nieshia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nieshia is Black at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Nieshia 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 Nieshia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.7% · 126
- White2.3% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 3
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Nieshia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nieshia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 91 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Nieshia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nieshia 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 Nieshia 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 Nieshia
The given name Nieshia appears to be a modern variation or misspelling of the name Nisha, which has its origins in the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the linguistic vehicle for Hindu scriptures and Indian cultural expressions.
Nisha is a feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "nishā," which means "night" or "darkness." It is often associated with the Hindu goddess of night, Ratri. In ancient Hindu mythology, Ratri was revered as the embodiment of calmness, serenity, and the cyclical nature of existence.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nisha can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, which date back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It was a name commonly given to girls in various regions of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in areas with a strong Hindu cultural influence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nisha or its variations. One of the earliest recorded examples is Nisha, the daughter of the famous Indian philosopher and scholar Adi Shankara, who lived in the 8th century CE. Another notable figure was Nisha Purushottam Kaul, a Kashmiri poet and writer who lived in the 19th century.
In the 20th century, Nisha Ganatra, an Indian-American filmmaker and director, gained recognition for her work in television and film. Nisha Arundale, an Indian social worker and activist, was also a prominent figure who fought for women's rights and child welfare in the early 20th century.
Another notable individual was Nisha Desai Biswal, an American diplomat and former Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, who served during the Obama administration. Her contributions to strengthening diplomatic relations between the United States and South Asian countries were widely recognized.
While the name Nieshia may be a more modern variation or misspelling, it likely draws inspiration from the ancient Sanskrit name Nisha, carrying with it the cultural and historical significance associated with its linguistic roots.
People
Nieshia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nieshia 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
Nieshia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nieshia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 152 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nieshia 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 2,254,963 US residents.
Is Nieshia a common name?
We classify Nieshia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nieshia most popular?
The single biggest year for Nieshia was 1989, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nieshia is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nieshia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 133 people with the name Nieshia, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,223 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 Nieshia 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 Nieshia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nieshia appears almost entirely female. Of the 134 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 Nieshia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nieshia is Black at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Nieshia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nieshia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (126 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 Nieshia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nieshia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nieshia 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 Nieshia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nieshia 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 Nieshia 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 Nieshia?
Find out how many people have the name Nieshia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.