Girls' name · since 1880
Anita
Anita has 215,165 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1957 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #184 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,341 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 215,165
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Anita is the #1341 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 215,165 recorded since 1880.
Anita has 215,165 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1341 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #184 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,341 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 215,165 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Anita ranks #184 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,341 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 215,165 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #184 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,341 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 215,165
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Anita's 215,165 recorded births place it above 99.74% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Anita compares
215,165 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Anita's all-time total is 572x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Anita | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 215,165 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,811 | 21 | 19,840 |
Anita's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Anita's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 55% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 45%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1880, with only 16 births recorded -- set against the 1957 peak of 5,811, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Anita popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1957)
- 5,811
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Anita popularity over time - boys
684 total births recorded since 1917 (Anita as boys' name)
Anita by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (47,588 births, 22% of the file).
1950s was Anita's strongest decade.
47,588 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Anita births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 365
1880s
365 births
- 1890s 1,191
1890s
1,191 births
- 1900s 2,149
1900s
2,149 births
- 1910s 9,555
1910s
9,555 births
- 1920s 18,052
1920s
18,052 births
- 1930s
1930s
22,224 births
- 1940s
1940s
32,531 births
- 1950s
1950s
47,588 births
- 1960s
1960s
44,416 births
- 1970s 18,834
1970s
18,834 births
- 1980s 8,594
1980s
8,594 births
- 1990s 4,571
1990s
4,571 births
- 2000s 2,471
2000s
2,471 births
- 2010s 1,695
2010s
1,695 births
- 2020s 929
2020s
929 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 47,588 births (22% of all-time use).
How Anita compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Anita's total volume
Anita by state
Where Anita concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 18,245 | 8.5% |
| #2 | New York | | 17,996 | 8.4% |
| #3 | Texas | | 17,718 | 8.2% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 11,398 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 10,755 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 10,343 | 4.8% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 6,987 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 6,257 | 2.9% |
18,245 of 215,165 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Anita appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Anita? ▼
Where does Anita sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Anita most popular? ▼
Where is Anita most popular? ▼
How long has the name Anita been used? ▼
What names are similar to Anita? ▼
What to do with Anita's data
- Anita's decade-level peak was the 1950s (47,588 total births); usage has since declined to 929 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Anitas (18,245 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Anita
Nearby Names Like Anita
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Anita
Compare Anita side by side: Anita vs Aniyah Anita vs Aniya Anita vs Anika
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Anita
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Anita: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1957)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Anita draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.