NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Iesha

A feminine name of African American origin meaning "life" or "respected one".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2017. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Iesha is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Iesha popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2017 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5765, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1997, with 19 births.

This profile covers 196 England and Wales registrations across 20 recorded years from 1996 to 2017. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 16% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 198 living people in the UK are called Iesha. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2018 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Iesha ranked #5765 for girls in England and Wales in 2017, with 3 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 1997, when 19 girls were registered as Iesha.
  • Iesha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #802 in 2010.
  • About 198 living people in the UK are estimated to have Iesha as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#5765

2017

Births in 2017

3

Latest year

Peak year

1997

19 births

Estimated living

198

2026

Meaning

What does Iesha mean?

The name Iesha has its origins in the Arabic language and is believed to have derived from the word 'Isha', which means 'life' or 'livelihood'. It is a feminine name that gained popularity in the Middle East and North Africa during the medieval period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Iesha can be found in the writings of the renowned Arab poet and philosopher Al-Mutanabbi, who lived in the 10th century. He mentioned the name in one of his poems, suggesting that it was in use during that time.

In the 12th century, a notable figure named Iesha bint Al-Muqtadir was recorded in historical texts as a prominent scholar and poet in the court of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Her contributions to literature and intellectual discourse during that period were widely recognized.

As the name spread across the Islamic world, it gained recognition in various cultures and regions. In the 14th century, an influential Sufi mystic from Persia, Iesha al-Khawafi, was renowned for her spiritual teachings and writings on Sufism.

During the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, Iesha Sultan was a prominent figure in the imperial court. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her influence on the cultural and intellectual life of the empire.

In more recent history, Iesha Haynes, an American civil rights activist born in 1924, played a significant role in the fight for racial equality and desegregation in the United States. Her courageous efforts and advocacy for social justice left a lasting impact on the civil rights movement.

While these are a few notable examples, the name Iesha has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, each leaving their unique mark in various fields and cultures across different parts of the world.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Iesha over time

The chart below shows babies named Iesha registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2017. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Iesha, the clearest high point is 1997. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2017, compared with 19 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Iesha
05101419199620062017

Decades

Iesha by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Iesha was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2010s #4188 37 6
2000s #2198 98 10
1990s #1262 61 4

Geography

Where Iesha is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Iesha. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Iesha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #802 in 2010.

Scotland
3

Across the UK

Iesha in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#802 in 2010

1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered

Related

Names similar to Iesha

FAQ

Iesha: questions and answers

How popular is the name Iesha in the UK right now?

In 2017, Iesha was ranked #5765 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.

When was Iesha most popular?

The peak year on record was 1997, with 19 babies registered as Iesha in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Iesha?

A feminine name of African American origin meaning "life" or "respected one".

How many people are called Iesha in the UK?

A total of 196 babies have been registered as Iesha across the 20 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.

Where is Iesha most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Iesha ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #802 in 2010. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.