Shalisha
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "I will lend" or "borrowed".
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Shalisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalisha today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalisha births was 1990 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalisha. 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
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
1990
24 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,559
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shalisha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 328 people with the first name Shalisha, which placed it at #27,731 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
#27,731
National first-name rank
People counted
328
328 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalisha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalisha is Black at 72.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Shalisha 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 Shalisha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.0% · 236
- White15.2% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 18
- Two or more races4.6% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Shalisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalisha from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 135 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shalisha 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 Shalisha 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 Shalisha
The name Shalisha is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was widely used in the Indian subcontinent. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "shāliśhā," which means "having ears of corn" or "possessing abundant crops." This suggests that the name may have been associated with fertility, abundance, and prosperity in ancient times.
While the exact time period of the name's origin is unclear, it is evident that it has been used in various parts of the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Some historical references suggest that the name may have been mentioned in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, further solidifying its connection to the region's cultural and religious heritage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shalisha can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. In this epic, the name is mentioned in reference to a character, albeit in a minor role.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shalisha. One such figure was Shalisha Devi (1480-1550), a renowned poet and saint from the Bhakti movement in medieval India. Her compositions, which celebrated devotion to the divine, continue to be revered in various parts of the country.
Another prominent individual with this name was Shalisha Chandra Vidyaratna (1876-1949), a respected Bengali scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit literature and grammar. His works are still widely referenced in academic circles.
In the realm of arts and culture, Shalisha Mathur (1920-1998) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in preserving and promoting the rich traditions of Kathak, one of the eight classical dance forms of India.
Moving to more recent times, Shalisha Kandukuri (born 1985) is an Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She has been recognized for her efforts in promoting education and empowering underprivileged communities through various charitable initiatives.
Lastly, Shalisha Billimoria (born 1990) is a notable figure in the world of sports. She is an Indian professional tennis player who has represented her country in numerous international tournaments and has achieved notable rankings in both singles and doubles events.
These examples illustrate the diverse range of individuals who have borne the name Shalisha throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Shalisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shalisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalisha 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Shalisha a common name?
We classify Shalisha 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, 353 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalisha was 1990, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalisha 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 Shalisha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 328 people with the name Shalisha, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,731 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 Shalisha 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 Shalisha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalisha appears almost entirely female. Of the 332 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Shalisha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalisha is Black at 72.0%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Shalisha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shalisha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (236 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 Shalisha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalisha 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 Shalisha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalisha 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 Shalisha 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 Shalisha?
Find out how many Americans are named Shalisha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.