Girls' name · since 1889
Benita
Since 1889, U.S. Social Security records show 13,669 babies named Benita, peaking in 1961. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #1,371 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,875 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,669
- born since 1889
- 1960s
- peak decade
Yes -- Benita is the #8875 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 13,669 recorded since 1889.
Benita has 13,669 recorded births among girls since 1889, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #8875 as of the latest data, more common than 49% of girls, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1889 to 2025.
- #1,371 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #8,875 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 13,669 born since 1889
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Benita ranks #1,371 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,875 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 13,669 born since 1889, peaking in the 1960s.
- #1,371 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,875 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 13,669
- born since 1889
- 1960s
- peak decade
Benita's 13,669 recorded births place it above 98.1% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
39 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Benita compares
13,669 Top 8% higher than 92% 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
Benita's all-time total is 36x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Benita | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 13,669 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 480 | 21 | 19,840 |
Benita's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Benita splits its recorded history at 1959: 57% of all births land in the more recent half, 43% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1889 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1961 peak of 480 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Benita popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1889–2025
- Peak year (1961)
- 480
- Annual births at peak, across 137 years of records
Benita by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (3,720 births, 27% of the file).
1960s was Benita's strongest decade.
3,720 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Benita births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 5
1880s
5 births
- 1890s 46
1890s
46 births
- 1900s 92
1900s
92 births
- 1910s 422
1910s
422 births
- 1920s 668
1920s
668 births
- 1930s 1,069
1930s
1,069 births
- 1940s 1,117
1940s
1,117 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,889 births
- 1960s
1960s
3,720 births
- 1970s
1970s
1,771 births
- 1980s 949
1980s
949 births
- 1990s 474
1990s
474 births
- 2000s 221
2000s
221 births
- 2010s 149
2010s
149 births
- 2020s 77
2020s
77 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 3,720 births (27% of all-time use).
How Benita 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 Benita's total volume
Benita by state
Where Benita concentrates geographically, total births since 1889
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 2,129 | 15.6% |
| #2 | California | | 921 | 6.7% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 696 | 5.1% |
| #4 | New York | | 656 | 4.8% |
| #5 | North Carolina | | 465 | 3.4% |
| #6 | Alabama | | 438 | 3.2% |
| #7 | Georgia | | 423 | 3.1% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 406 | 3.0% |
2,129 of 13,669 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 39 reporting states.
Benita appears in 39 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Benita? ▼
Where does Benita sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Benita most popular? ▼
Where is Benita most popular? ▼
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What to do with Benita's data
- Benita's decade-level peak was the 1960s (3,720 total births); usage has since declined to 77 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Benitas (2,129 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Benita
Nearby Names Like Benita
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Benita
Compare Benita side by side: Benita vs Bennie Benita vs Bentley Benita vs Benjamin
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Benita
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Benita: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1961)
Similar record span (~136 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, 1889–2025 (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 Benita 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.