Toniesha
A feminine name potentially derived from a combination of the French "Antoine" and an ending like "-esha".
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Toniesha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Toniesha today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Toniesha births was 1994 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Toniesha. 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
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1994
13 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2001 SSA rank
#13,408
Tracked since 1981
Census
Toniesha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 139 people with the first name Toniesha, which placed it at #47,200 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
#47,200
National first-name rank
People counted
139
139 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toniesha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toniesha is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Toniesha 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 Toniesha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.5% · 130
- White3.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Toniesha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Toniesha 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 90 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
Toniesha 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 Toniesha 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 Toniesha
The name Toniesha is a relatively modern feminine given name that appears to have originated in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century. It is likely a variant or combination of the names Toni and Keisha, both of which have roots in different cultures and languages.
The first part of the name, Toni, is a shortened form of the Italian name Antonia, which is derived from the ancient Roman family name Antonius. This name can be traced back to the 1st century BC and was borne by several notable figures in Roman history, including the general Marcus Antonius, who was a member of the Second Triumvirate and a rival of Octavian (later known as Augustus).
The latter part of the name, Keisha, is believed to have originated as a variant of the Arabic name Keisha or Kaysha, which means "life" or "to live." This name has been used in various forms across different cultures and regions, including the Caribbean and parts of Africa.
While the exact origin and meaning of the combined name Toniesha are not entirely clear, it is thought to be a unique blend of these two distinct name elements, possibly reflecting the diverse cultural influences and naming traditions present in modern American society.
In terms of historical references and notable individuals bearing the name Toniesha, records are limited due to its relatively recent emergence. However, here are five examples of individuals with this first name:
1. Toniesha Dixon (born in the late 20th century), an American professional basketball player who competed in the WNBA.
2. Toniesha Lashay Kerns (born in the late 20th century), an American actress and model known for her work in television and film.
3. Toniesha Lashay Thompson (born in the late 20th century), an American track and field athlete specializing in sprinting events.
4. Toniesha Monet (born in the late 20th century), an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the R&B and soul genres.
5. Toniesha Brown (born in the late 20th century), an American entrepreneur and business owner who founded a successful hair care product line.
While the name Toniesha may be relatively new, it reflects the diverse cultural influences and naming traditions that have shaped modern American society, blending elements from different languages and backgrounds to create a unique and distinctive name.
People
Toniesha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Toniesha 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
Toniesha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Toniesha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Toniesha 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Toniesha a common name?
We classify Toniesha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Toniesha most popular?
The single biggest year for Toniesha was 1994, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Toniesha is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Toniesha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 139 people with the name Toniesha, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,200 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 Toniesha 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 Toniesha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Toniesha appears almost entirely female. Of the 138 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Toniesha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Toniesha is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Toniesha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Toniesha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (130 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 Toniesha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Toniesha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Toniesha 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 Toniesha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Toniesha 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 Toniesha 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 are named Toniesha?
See how many Americans are named Toniesha on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.