Yanisa
A feminine name of Thai origin meaning "beautiful woman".
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Yanisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yanisa today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yanisa births was 2009 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yanisa. 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 Yanisa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
2009
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2012 SSA rank
#19,420
Tracked since 1994
Census
Yanisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Yanisa, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
52.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yanisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yanisa is Hispanic at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Yanisa 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 Yanisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino52.9% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander35.5% · 55
- Black or African American3.9% · 6
- White3.2% · 5
- Two or more races3.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Popularity
Yanisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yanisa from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 41 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Yanisa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yanisa 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 Yanisa 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 Yanisa
The name Yanisa originates from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was widely used in the Indian subcontinent. The name Yanisa is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit word "Yani," which means "she who goes" or "she who moves." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been associated with ideas of travel, movement, or perhaps even a nomadic lifestyle in ancient times.
Historically, the name Yanisa can be traced back to various texts and records from the Indian subcontinent, particularly those related to Hindu mythology and religious scriptures. One notable reference is found in the Puranas, a vast collection of ancient Hindu texts that recount stories of gods, goddesses, and their incarnations. In these texts, Yanisa is sometimes mentioned as a variant spelling of the name Janisha, which was borne by a minor goddess associated with prosperity and abundance.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Yanisa date back to the 6th century CE, during the Gupta Empire period in ancient India. During this time, the name was found inscribed on various archaeological artifacts, such as coins and stone inscriptions, indicating its use among certain sections of the population.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yanisa. One such figure was Yanisa Devi, a powerful queen who ruled over the kingdom of Mithila in present-day Bihar, India, during the 12th century CE. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts, literature, and architecture, and her reign is often celebrated as a golden age of cultural renaissance in the region.
Another prominent figure was Yanisa Khan, a skilled military commander who served under the Mughal Empire in the 16th century CE. He played a pivotal role in several campaigns and battles, earning a reputation for his strategic acumen and bravery on the battlefield.
In the realm of literature, Yanisa Bai was a celebrated poet and writer who lived in the 17th century CE in the Deccan region of India. Her literary works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were widely acclaimed and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars and literary enthusiasts alike.
The name Yanisa also appears in the historical records of Southeast Asia, particularly in the region of modern-day Thailand. Yanisa Thammathirat was a revered Buddhist scholar and monk who lived in the 14th century CE. He was known for his vast knowledge of Buddhist teachings and his contributions to the preservation and propagation of the Theravada Buddhist tradition in the region.
Another notable figure bearing the name Yanisa was Yanisa Sultana, a powerful queen who ruled over the Sultanate of Aceh in present-day Indonesia during the 17th century CE. She is remembered for her efforts in strengthening the maritime trade and diplomatic relations of her kingdom, as well as her patronage of Islamic art and architecture.
People
Yanisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yanisa 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
Yanisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yanisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yanisa 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Yanisa a common name?
We classify Yanisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yanisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Yanisa was 2009, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yanisa is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yanisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Yanisa, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Yanisa 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 Yanisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yanisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 158 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 Yanisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yanisa is Hispanic at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Yanisa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yanisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.9% (82 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 Yanisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yanisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yanisa 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 Yanisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yanisa 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 Yanisa 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 Yanisa as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Yanisa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.