Reesa
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 645 living Americans carry the first name Reesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Reesa today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reesa births was 1963 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reesa. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Reesa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
645
~ 1 in 531,402 Americans
Peak year
1963
21 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,892
Tracked since 1945
Census
Reesa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 733 people with the first name Reesa, which placed it at #15,631 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
#15,631
National first-name rank
People counted
733
733 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reesa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reesa is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Reesa 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 Reesa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 555
- Black or African American8.3% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 41
- Two or more races4.0% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Popularity
Reesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reesa from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 153 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reesa 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 Reesa 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 Reesa
The name Reesa originates from the Sanskrit language and can be traced back to ancient India. It is derived from the word "resa," which means "sweetness" or "nectar." The name has been in use for centuries, with records indicating its presence in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Reesa can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Indian epic poem dating back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this epic, Reesa is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, the name Reesa has been borne by various notable figures. One such individual was Reesa Devi, a renowned Indian poet and author who lived during the 16th century. Her works, which focused on themes of devotion and spirituality, were widely celebrated during her lifetime and continue to be studied today.
Another prominent figure with the name Reesa was Reesa Begum, a 17th-century Mughal princess known for her patronage of the arts and her philanthropic endeavors. She played a significant role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Mughal court, supporting artists, scholars, and poets.
In more recent times, Reesa Khan (1932-2019) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was widely recognized for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Indian dance forms, and her performances were celebrated both nationally and internationally.
Reesa Fernandes (1945-2012) was a renowned Indian social activist and environmentalist. She dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of marginalized communities and championing environmental causes. Her work earned her numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors.
The name Reesa has also found its way into various literary works, further solidifying its place in cultural history. For instance, in the novel "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy, one of the central characters is named Reesa, reflecting the author's appreciation for the name's cultural significance.
People
Reesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reesa 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
Reesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 645 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reesa 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 531,402 US residents.
Is Reesa a common name?
We classify Reesa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 742 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Reesa was 1963, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reesa is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reesa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 733 people with the name Reesa, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,631 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 Reesa 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 Reesa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reesa appears almost entirely female. Of the 734 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Reesa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reesa is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (8.3%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Reesa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (555 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 Reesa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reesa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reesa 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 Reesa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reesa 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 Reesa 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 have the name Reesa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.