Risha
Feminine
Risha sits in the middle of one of the busiest patterns in American naming: the -isha ending, which through the 1970s and 1980s produced Keisha, Tanisha, Nakisha, Latisha and dozens more. Its peak in 1979 is exactly in that decade.
How old is the name Risha?
Risha first appears in US birth records in 1954 — 71 years ago. The typical Risha alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 900 people named Risha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Risha most popular?
Risha peaked in 1979, reaching #1874 nationally. Today it ranks #5410, 3,536 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Risha
The -isha ending had the highest output of any single element in American girls' naming, and its arc is unusually clean. It appears in the records in the 1960s, is fully productive by the 1970s, generates something like a hundred distinct names — Keisha, Tanisha, Latisha, Nakisha, Lakisha, Rasheeda, Risha — peaks around 1980 and thins out by 1995. Where it came from is genuinely debated: Aisha entered American use in the same period through Muslim naming, and the resemblance is close, but the ending attaches to openings that have nothing Arabic about them and the connection cannot be proved. Risha is one of its shorter and plainer products, and its 1979 peak sits within a year or two of the whole family's crest.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source establishes an etymology. The -isha and -eesha ending is an American naming element with no documented source; it is often connected to Aisha, the Arabic name meaning living, which was in wide American use in the same period, and that connection is plausible rather than proved. Separately, Hindi Risha exists as a modern name and Arabic rīsha means a feather; neither is documented as the source of the American name.
Pronouncing Risha
REE-shah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Some families say RISH-uh with a short first vowel, and the spelling supports both.
Nicknames for Risha
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
- 1954
- Most girls named
- 201133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1874reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- +21.1%23 in 2025, from 19
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.
Risha in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- रिशा in Hindi — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, New Jersey.
Rishas among us
people named Risha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 69,881 born in 2025 was named Risha
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Risha
- #5410
- Risha on the 2025 chart
- #932
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Risha went to 23 girls in 2025, but Rysha is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 28, which makes it the 932nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 4,478 places above the chart.
- Risha23
- Rysha5
About 1 girl in 57,402 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 69,881 for Risha itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Armandina test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Risha's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Armandina climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Armandina's path sketches the road Risha is walking now.
Risha 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
Risha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Risha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Five letters and two open syllables travel easily.
- Everyone can say it after one hearing.
- It reads immediately as a name of its era.
- There is no established meaning behind it.
- The first vowel is said two ways and the spelling does not settle it.
- It is closely dated to the 1970s and 1980s.
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What they receive
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Risha
Feminine · #5410 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rishas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Risha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Risha?
- Risha is the most-used spelling in US records — 23 of the 28 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Rysha.
- How popular is the name Risha in 2025?
- Risha ranks #5410 among US girl names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Risha?
- About 1 in every 69,881 US girls born in 2025 was named Risha — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Risha with classmates?
- Risha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Risha
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aina#5410 · Sherry#5410 · Kathia#5410 · Taj#5410 · Analicia#5410 · Divya#5410 · Halimah#5410 · Leo#5410
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Risha? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Risha and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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