Latasha

Meaning of Latasha

Latasha (pronounced luh-TAH-shuh, /ləˈtɑʃə/) is a feminine given name coined in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century through the addition of the prefix La- to Tasha—a diminutive of Natasha, itself originating from the Russian contraction of Natalia (“born on Christmas Day”)—and thus embodies a morphological innovation characteristic of African American naming practices, wherein phonetic elaboration serves as a vessel for cultural self-articulation; its emergence in California in the early 1960s, followed by a progressive ascent through the 1970s—culminating in 102 recorded births (rank 228) in 1981—and its subsequent decline to nine occurrences (rank 365) by 1997 attest to the name’s temporal resonance within specific communities and its eventual attenuation in broader demographic adoption. Although Latasha possesses no independent etymological meaning beyond its constituent morphemes, it is analytically associated with notions of individuality, resilience, and the dynamic interplay between linguistic form and identity formation in an Anglo-American context.