Oneisha
A feminine name with an uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 243 living Americans carry the first name Oneisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Oneisha today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Oneisha births was 1994 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Oneisha. 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
243
~ 1 in 1,410,512 Americans
Peak year
1994
56 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2002 SSA rank
#17,423
Tracked since 1983
Census
Oneisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Oneisha, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oneisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oneisha is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Oneisha 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 Oneisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.1% · 229
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 15
- Two or more races3.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 4
- White0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Oneisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Oneisha from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 229 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
Oneisha 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 Oneisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Oneishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Oneisha, while Texas, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Oneisha
The name Oneisha is believed to have originated from the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. It is a variation of the name Anisha, which means "favor" or "grace" in Yoruba. The name is thought to have emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century, likely as a result of the influence of African cultures on the African-American community in the United States.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oneisha can be found in the birth records of the state of Georgia in the early 1900s. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the latter half of the 20th century, when it became increasingly common among African-American families.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Oneisha. One such person was Oneisha Tanner, an American actress and singer who was born in 1976. She is best known for her role in the television series "Girlfriends" and has also appeared in various films and stage productions.
Another notable Oneisha was Oneisha Lincoln, an American basketball player who was born in 1980. She played professionally in the WNBA for several teams, including the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Mystics, during her career spanning from 2002 to 2010.
In the field of education, Oneisha Sanderson is a notable figure. Born in 1972, she is an American educator and author who has written several books on educational strategies and has been recognized for her work in promoting diversity and inclusion in the classroom.
Oneisha Pryce, born in 1985, is a Jamaican-American fashion designer and entrepreneur. She is the founder of a successful clothing line that celebrates Caribbean culture and has gained recognition for her innovative designs and commitment to sustainable fashion.
Lastly, Oneisha Simmonds, born in 1978, is a British-Jamaican author and journalist. She has written several novels and non-fiction works that explore themes of identity, race, and cultural heritage, and has been praised for her insightful and engaging writing style.
People
Oneisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Oneisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Oneisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Oneisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Oneisha 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 1,410,512 US residents.
Is Oneisha a common name?
We classify Oneisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Oneisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Oneisha was 1994, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Oneisha is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Oneisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Oneisha, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Oneisha 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 Oneisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Oneisha leans strongly female. 249 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 5 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Oneisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Oneisha is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Oneisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Oneisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (229 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 Oneisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Oneisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Oneisha 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 Oneisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Oneisha 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 Oneisha 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 named Oneisha?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Oneisha at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.