Raynisha
A feminine name of African American origin, possibly a blend of "Rayne" and "Nisha".
Name Census estimates that about 214 living Americans carry the first name Raynisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raynisha today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raynisha births was 1991 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raynisha. 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
214
~ 1 in 1,601,656 Americans
Peak year
1991
19 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2010 SSA rank
#16,517
Tracked since 1982
Census
Raynisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 180 people with the first name Raynisha, which placed it at #41,022 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
#41,022
National first-name rank
People counted
180
180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raynisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raynisha is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) 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 Raynisha 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 Raynisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.0% · 162
- Two or more races5.6% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- White0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Raynisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raynisha from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 122 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
Raynisha 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 Raynisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raynishas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raynisha
The name Raynisha is a relatively modern feminine given name that seems to have originated in the United States, likely among African American communities. It appears to be a combination of the names Raynesha and Anisha, both of which have roots in various African and Middle Eastern languages.
Raynisha does not have a long-standing historical background or direct connections to ancient cultures or texts. The origins of the name can be traced back to the late 20th century, when it started gaining popularity as a unique and creative name choice, particularly within certain regions of the United States.
While there are no definitive records of the earliest usage of Raynisha, it is believed to have emerged as a blend of the names Raynesha and Anisha, which themselves have roots in different linguistic and cultural traditions. Raynesha is thought to be a variant of the name Renee, which has French origins and means "reborn." Anisha, on the other hand, is a name of Arabic and Persian origin, meaning "close friend" or "life companion."
As a relatively new name, there are no notable historical figures or individuals of significant fame who bore the name Raynisha in past centuries. However, here are five individuals who have been recorded as having this first name:
1. Raynisha Williams, an American track and field athlete born in 1988, specializing in the long jump and triple jump events.
2. Raynisha Clark, an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx in 2010.
3. Raynisha Blount, an American politician who served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021.
4. Raynisha Robertson, an American reality television personality who appeared on the show "Bad Girls Club" in 2012.
5. Raynisha Crockett, an American author and motivational speaker known for her work on self-empowerment and personal development.
It is worth noting that as a relatively modern name, Raynisha has not yet had the opportunity to accumulate a rich historical legacy or widespread recognition across various cultures and time periods. However, its unique blend of influences and its growing popularity in recent decades suggest that it may continue to evolve and potentially gain more prominence in the future.
People
Raynisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raynisha 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
Raynisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raynisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 214 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raynisha 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 1,601,656 US residents.
Is Raynisha a common name?
We classify Raynisha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 222 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raynisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Raynisha was 1991, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raynisha 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 Raynisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 180 people with the name Raynisha, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,022 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 Raynisha 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 Raynisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raynisha leans strongly female. 180 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Raynisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raynisha is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) 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 Raynisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Raynisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (162 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 Raynisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raynisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raynisha 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 Raynisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raynisha 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 Raynisha 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 Americans are named Raynisha?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Raynisha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.