Raneisha
A feminine name of African origin, meaning "beautiful rose."
Name Census estimates that about 333 living Americans carry the first name Raneisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raneisha today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raneisha births was 1992 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raneisha. 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
333
~ 1 in 1,029,292 Americans
Peak year
1992
30 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2005 SSA rank
#18,529
Tracked since 1980
Census
Raneisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 272 people with the first name Raneisha, which placed it at #31,478 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
#31,478
National first-name rank
People counted
272
272 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raneisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raneisha is Black at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Raneisha 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 Raneisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.0% · 253
- Two or more races3.3% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 6
- White0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Raneisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raneisha 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 203 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
Raneisha 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 Raneisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raneishas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raneisha
The name Raneisha is a modern variation of the traditional African American name Ranisha, which itself is a combination of the French name Renée and the Swahili name Nisha. The first part, Renée, derives from the Late Latin name Renatus, meaning "reborn" or "born again." This name was popularized in France during the Renaissance period and was often given to children born after a difficult pregnancy or to parents who had previously lost a child.
The second part of the name, Nisha, has its roots in the Swahili language spoken in East Africa. It means "night" or "darkness," and was likely chosen for its association with beauty, mystery, and the cycles of nature. The combination of these two elements, Renée and Nisha, creates a unique and beautiful name with a rich cultural heritage.
While the name Raneisha itself is relatively modern, its components have a long history. The earliest recorded use of the name Renée can be traced back to the 12th century in France, where it was occasionally given to girls born on Christmas Day, symbolizing the "rebirth" of Christ. One notable bearer of this name was Renée of France (1510-1575), the daughter of King Louis XII and Anne of Brittany.
The Swahili name Nisha, on the other hand, has been in use for centuries among the Bantu-speaking peoples of East Africa. It was often given to children born at night or during a lunar eclipse, reflecting the spiritual and cultural significance of the night in many African traditions.
As for the combined name Raneisha, one of the earliest recorded instances was in the late 20th century, when it began to gain popularity among African American families seeking unique and culturally significant names for their children. Some notable individuals who have borne the name Raneisha include:
1. Raneisha Braxton (born 1985), an American professional basketball player and coach.
2. Raneisha Daniels (born 1992), an American track and field athlete specializing in sprinting events.
3. Raneisha Williams (born 1988), an American model and actress known for her work in television commercials.
4. Raneisha Johnson (born 1990), an American entrepreneur and founder of a successful beauty products company.
5. Raneisha Thompson (born 1994), an American author and poet whose works explore themes of identity, race, and womanhood.
While the name Raneisha is still relatively uncommon, its unique blend of cultural influences and its association with concepts of rebirth and natural beauty have contributed to its growing popularity in recent decades.
People
Raneisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raneisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Raneisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raneisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 333 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raneisha 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 1,029,292 US residents.
Is Raneisha a common name?
We classify Raneisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 345 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raneisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Raneisha was 1992, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raneisha is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raneisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 272 people with the name Raneisha, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,478 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 Raneisha 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 Raneisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raneisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 274 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Raneisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raneisha is Black at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Raneisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Raneisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (253 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 Raneisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raneisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raneisha 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 Raneisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raneisha 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 Raneisha 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 share the name Raneisha?
You can see how many Americans are named Raneisha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.