UK girl's name
Keshia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Keisha.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2002. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Keshia is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Keshia popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2002 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2868, with 5 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 8 births.
This profile covers 23 England and Wales registrations across 4 recorded years from 1996 to 2002. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 63% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 23 living people in the UK are called Keshia. 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 2003 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Keshia ranked #2868 for girls in England and Wales in 2002, with 5 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 8 girls were registered as Keshia.
- • About 23 living people in the UK are estimated to have Keshia as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2868
2002
Births in 2002
5
Latest year
Peak year
1996
8 births
Estimated living
23
2026
Meaning
What does Keshia mean?
The name Keshia is derived from the Irish Gaelic name Caiside, which itself has roots in the Old Irish name Cásshíd. The name Cásshíd is believed to have originated from the Latin name Cassius, which was a Roman family name derived from the word "caesius," meaning "grey-eyed" or "bluish-grey."
The earliest recorded use of the name Keshia can be traced back to the late 19th century, when it began appearing in birth records in parts of Ireland and Scotland. It is thought that the name Keshia emerged as an Anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Caiside, which was itself a variation of the older name Cásshíd.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Keshia was Keshia O'Donnell, an Irish woman born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1876. Another notable early bearer of the name was Keshia MacKenzie, a Scottish woman born in the Highlands in 1892.
In the early 20th century, the name Keshia gained some popularity among Irish and Scottish immigrants to the United States. One of the earliest recorded Americans with the name was Keshia Doherty, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1904.
Throughout the 20th century, the name Keshia continued to be used by individuals of Irish and Scottish descent, although it remained relatively uncommon. Some notable bearers of the name include Keshia Mullen, an Irish-American actress born in New York City in 1932, and Keshia McLeod, a Scottish author and poet born in Glasgow in 1946.
While the name Keshia has its origins in Ireland and Scotland, it has also been adopted by individuals of various cultural backgrounds, particularly in the United States and Canada. One of the most famous individuals with the name Keshia is American actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, best known for her role as Rudy Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show. Pulliam was born in 1979 in Newark, New Jersey.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Keshia over time
The chart below shows babies named Keshia registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2002. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Keshia, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 5 births in 2002, compared with 8 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keshia by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Keshia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | #2868 | 5 | 1 |
| 1990s | #2655 | 18 | 3 |
Related
Names similar to Keshia
- Katie 53,185
- Keira 14,411
- Katherine 11,323
- Kayleigh 10,677
- Kate 10,276
- Kelsey 7,224
- Kiera 7,218
- Kayla 6,541
- Kirsty 6,384
- Khadija 5,948
- Kimberley 5,189
- Kaitlyn 5,137
FAQ
Keshia: questions and answers
How popular is the name Keshia in the UK right now?
In 2002, Keshia was ranked #2868 for girls in England and Wales, with 5 births registered.
When was Keshia most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 8 babies registered as Keshia in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Keshia?
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Keisha.
How many people are called Keshia in the UK?
A total of 23 babies have been registered as Keshia across the 4 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.