Tamisha
A feminine name of ambiguous origin, potentially deriving from French.
Name Census estimates that about 2,044 living Americans carry the first name Tamisha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tamisha today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamisha births was 1974 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamisha. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 167,688 Americans
Peak year
1974
122 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2007 SSA rank
#15,313
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Tamisha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamisha 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 882 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
Tamisha 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 Tamisha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tamishas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Tamisha, while Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 56 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tamisha
Tamisha is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, but it is believed to have its roots in various African and Arabic languages. The name may have derived from the Arabic word "tamash," which means "to walk with grace or elegance." It could also be a variation of the Swahili name "Tamesha," which means "one who is adorned."
One theory suggests that Tamisha may have originated from the Wolof language spoken in Senegal, West Africa. In Wolof, the name "Tamis" means "beautiful" or "attractive." The addition of the suffix "-ha" could have been a way to create a feminine form of the name.
Another possibility is that Tamisha is a combination of the Arabic name "Tamara" and the Hebrew name "Misha," both of which were popular in ancient times. Tamara means "date palm tree," while Misha is a diminutive form of the name Michael, meaning "who is like God."
The earliest recorded use of the name Tamisha is difficult to pinpoint, as it gained popularity relatively recently. However, some historical figures who bore this name include:
1. Tamisha Rice (born 1979), an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams.
2. Tamisha Wrigley (born 1984), a British singer and songwriter best known for her participation in the reality TV show "The X Factor" in 2004.
3. Tamisha Akbar (born 1984), an American fashion designer and entrepreneur known for her inclusive and sustainable clothing line.
4. Tamisha Williams (born 1977), an American actress and comedian who has appeared in various television shows and films.
5. Tamisha Mukluk (born 1980), an Inuit artist and illustrator from Canada, known for her children's books depicting Inuit culture and traditions.
While the name Tamisha has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries, its origins remain somewhat shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, its unique sound and potential connections to various cultures and languages have contributed to its widespread use as a given name.
People
Tamisha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamisha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tamisha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamisha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,044 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamisha 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 167,688 US residents.
Is Tamisha a common name?
We classify Tamisha as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamisha most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamisha was 1974, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamisha is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Tamisha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tamisha 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.
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.