Yaisa
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "light, radiance".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Yaisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yaisa today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yaisa births was 1977 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yaisa. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yaisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
1977
17 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2007 SSA rank
#13,871
Tracked since 1977
Census
Yaisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 175 people with the first name Yaisa, which placed it at #41,669 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
#41,669
National first-name rank
People counted
175
175 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yaisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaisa is Hispanic at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Yaisa 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 Yaisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.4% · 111
- Black or African American29.1% · 51
- Two or more races4.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Yaisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yaisa from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 34 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Yaisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yaisa 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 Yaisa 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 Yaisa
The name Yaisa is believed to have its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, the region that is now modern-day Iraq. It is derived from the Akkadian language, one of the earliest recorded Semitic languages spoken in Mesopotamia around 2500 BCE. The name is thought to be a variation of the word "ya'ish," which means "to live" or "to exist."
One of the earliest known references to the name Yaisa can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the Sumerian city of Uruk, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE. These inscriptions suggest that the name was used during the Sumerian civilization, which predated the Akkadian Empire.
In ancient Mesopotamian mythology, Yaisa was also the name of a minor goddess associated with healing and fertility. However, there is limited information available about her significance or specific role within the pantheon of Mesopotamian deities.
The first recorded individual with the name Yaisa was a prominent Akkadian scribe who lived during the reign of King Sargon of Akkad, around 2350 BCE. This scribe was renowned for his contributions to the development of the cuneiform writing system and his meticulous record-keeping.
Another notable figure in history with the name Yaisa was a Sumerian priestess who served in the temple of the goddess Inanna in the city of Uruk around 2200 BCE. She was highly respected for her wisdom and her dedication to the religious practices of her time.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, around 600 BCE, a powerful governor named Yaisa ruled over the city of Nippur. He was known for his strong leadership and his efforts to maintain the city's religious and cultural traditions.
In the 5th century BCE, a Greek philosopher named Yaisa lived in the city of Miletus. He was a student of Pythagoras and is credited with developing some of the earliest theories in mathematics and geometry.
Another notable individual with the name Yaisa was a Persian poet and scholar who lived during the 11th century CE. He was renowned for his beautiful and introspective works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
While the name Yaisa has ancient roots and has been used throughout various cultures and time periods, it is not a common name in modern times. However, its rich history and connections to ancient civilizations make it a unique and meaningful choice for those seeking a name with a deep cultural heritage.
People
Yaisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yaisa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yaisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yaisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yaisa 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Yaisa a common name?
We classify Yaisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yaisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Yaisa was 1977, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yaisa is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yaisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 175 people with the name Yaisa, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,669 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 Yaisa 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 Yaisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yaisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 162 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Yaisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaisa is Hispanic at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Yaisa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yaisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (111 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 Yaisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yaisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yaisa 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 Yaisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yaisa 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 Yaisa 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 called Yaisa?
You can see how many Americans are named Yaisa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.