Neisha
Feminine · “Arabic aisha”
In the 1960s and 70s a great many African American families chose names deliberately, from Arabic, Swahili and West African sources or built on their sounds. It was a considered act with a stated purpose, and the -isha ending that runs through Keisha, Tanisha, Lakeisha and Neisha comes out of it, by way of the Arabic name Aisha.
How old is the name Neisha?
Neisha first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Neisha alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 1,100 people named Neisha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neisha most popular?
Neisha peaked in 1980, reaching #2128 nationally. Today it ranks #8362, 6,234 places below that high. See the whole 1980 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aisha to Neisha
Our story of Neisha
Our reading is that this family of names has a documented cultural context and that leaving it out makes the names unintelligible. Through the 1960s and 70s, Black American parents in large numbers looked outside the European name stock, and the sources they used were real and identifiable: Arabic names carried by the Nation of Islam and by Sunni conversion, Swahili names promoted through the Kwanzaa movement founded in 1966, West African names recovered through genealogy and scholarship. Aisha, Ayanna, Imani, Malik, Jamal and Rashida all entered American use that way. What happened next is what happens to any borrowed stock: the endings detached and became productive, and a second generation of names was built from them. Neisha belongs to that second generation. It is not Arabic, and it exists because Aisha was.
Meaningscholars disagree
Arabic aisha, living or alive
The -isha ending in this family derives from Aisha, Arabic for living or one who lives, the name of the Prophet Muhammad's youngest wife and a major transmitter of hadith. Neisha itself is an American formation joining a prefix to that ending and does not carry the Arabic meaning intact. It peaks in 1980.
How the name formed
- Aisha
- Keisha
- Neisha
Pronouncing Neisha
NEE-shah
Two syllables, stress on the first. nay-EE-shah with three syllables is also heard, and the spelling supports both. Nisha, Neisha and Niesha are near-homophones.
Nicknames for Neisha
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 198048 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2128reached in 1980
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%12 in 2025, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Neisha in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Neishas among us
people named Neisha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 133,939 born in 2025 was named Neisha
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Charlynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neisha's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Charlynn climbed just as high around 1952, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Charlynn's path sketches the road Neisha is walking now.
Neisha sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Neisha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neisha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The ending has a genuine and documented Arabic source.
- Isha works as a short form and is a name in its own right.
- The sound is smooth and easy to say.
- Nisha, Niesha and Neesha all circulate.
- The Arabic meaning does not transfer to the compound.
- The name is closely dated to the 1970s and 1980s.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Neisha to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Neisha? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Neisha
Feminine · #8362 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neishas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Neisha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Neisha in 2025?
- Neisha ranks #8362 among US girl names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neisha?
- About 1 in every 133,939 US girls born in 2025 was named Neisha — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neisha with classmates?
- Neisha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neisha
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lona#8362 · Peggy#8362 · Leda#8362 · Margarette#8362 · Rella#8362 · Evalena#8362 · Vashti#8362 · Nona#8362
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neisha? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neisha and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle