Bonita
Bonita was given to 11 girls in 2025, #8,955 among girls’ names; 37,854 Americans have been recorded with it since 1888 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 25,200 Americans named Bonita and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 63 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bonita by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bonita mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Bonita is “a female given name”
/boˈnita/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bonita?
#8,955 among girls’ names, 2025
Bonita fell from #7,679 in 2015 to #8,955 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 8.4 to 6.8 per million.
1,528 babies in 1950, the peak
Bonita peaked in 1950, when 1,528 girls were given it, #181 among girls’ names. The 11 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #8,955 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 15 | #7,302 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 16 | #6,979 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 14 | #7,695 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 14 | #7,694 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 16 | #6,974 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 12 | #8,676 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 9 | #10,703 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 8 | #11,828 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 20 | #6,217 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (132)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15 | #7,679 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 17 | #7,040 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8,202 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 16 | #7,506 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 18 | #6,894 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 20 | #6,418 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,852 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 19 | #6,845 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #9,638 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 24 | #5,573 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 19 | #6,301 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 17 | #6,821 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 22 | #5,443 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 10 | #9,589 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 27 | #4,460 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,246 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 27 | #4,210 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 29 | #3,926 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 32 | #3,556 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 32 | #3,509 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,671 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 33 | #3,373 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 52 | #2,415 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 71 | #1,944 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 71 | #1,953 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 74 | #1,889 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 81 | #1,683 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 84 | #1,565 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 104 | #1,318 | 0.06 |
| 1986 | 73 | #1,621 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 60 | #1,858 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 76 | #1,503 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 77 | #1,486 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 83 | #1,447 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 124 | #1,116 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 123 | #1,111 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 109 | #1,200 | 0.07 |
| 1978 | 102 | #1,221 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 107 | #1,161 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 129 | #988 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 126 | #979 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 179 | #772 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 161 | #815 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 224 | #667 | 0.15 |
| 1971 | 260 | #637 | 0.16 |
| 1970 | 321 | #566 | 0.18 |
| 1969 | 361 | #516 | 0.21 |
| 1968 | 373 | #502 | 0.23 |
| 1967 | 461 | #438 | 0.28 |
| 1966 | 528 | #402 | 0.31 |
| 1965 | 624 | #363 | 0.35 |
| 1964 | 662 | #368 | 0.35 |
| 1963 | 831 | #326 | 0.43 |
| 1962 | 924 | #305 | 0.47 |
| 1961 | 930 | #303 | 0.46 |
| 1960 | 893 | #316 | 0.44 |
| 1959 | 812 | #333 | 0.40 |
| 1958 | 822 | #327 | 0.41 |
| 1957 | 971 | #289 | 0.47 |
| 1956 | 1,174 | #242 | 0.58 |
| 1955 | 1,238 | #230 | 0.63 |
| 1954 | 1,199 | #232 | 0.62 |
| 1953 | 1,354 | #218 | 0.72 |
| 1952 | 1,456 | #199 | 0.79 |
| 1951 | 1,522 | #190 | 0.85 |
| 1950 | 1,528 | #181 | 0.89 |
| 1949 | 1,508 | #186 | 0.88 |
| 1948 | 1,315 | #203 | 0.77 |
| 1947 | 1,448 | #189 | 0.82 |
| 1946 | 1,213 | #198 | 0.77 |
| 1945 | 844 | #226 | 0.65 |
| 1944 | 979 | #204 | 0.74 |
| 1943 | 1,014 | #206 | 0.73 |
| 1942 | 826 | #234 | 0.61 |
| 1941 | 742 | #232 | 0.61 |
| 1940 | 516 | #275 | 0.45 |
| 1939 | 391 | #312 | 0.36 |
| 1938 | 359 | #335 | 0.33 |
| 1937 | 266 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1936 | 234 | #423 | 0.22 |
| 1935 | 260 | #401 | 0.25 |
| 1934 | 242 | #422 | 0.23 |
| 1933 | 230 | #422 | 0.23 |
| 1932 | 226 | #438 | 0.21 |
| 1931 | 206 | #447 | 0.19 |
| 1930 | 219 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1929 | 197 | #482 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 196 | #493 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 199 | #494 | 0.17 |
| 1926 | 188 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 208 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1924 | 167 | #561 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 164 | #564 | 0.14 |
| 1922 | 128 | #647 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 142 | #613 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 137 | #608 | 0.11 |
| 1919 | 99 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 99 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 93 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 115 | #632 | 0.11 |
| 1915 | 90 | #700 | 0.09 |
| 1914 | 58 | #759 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 59 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 44 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 39 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 39 | #681 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 33 | #692 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 20 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1907 | 20 | #843 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 18 | #875 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 15 | #971 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 21 | #782 | 0.08 |
| 1903 | 13 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,630 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 11 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,450 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 6 | #1,418 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 9 | #1,139 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 8 | #1,211 | 0.03 |
| 1893 | 7 | #1,189 | 0.03 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,485 | 0.02 |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,151 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Bonita a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bonita has been given almost only to girls: 12 boys in 132 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bonita: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bonita, and how old are they?
25,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 37,854 Americans ever recorded as Bonita. The median Bonita alive today is 71 years old; half are between 63 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 27,867 people named Bonita (27,850 women and girls, 17 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 28,279 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,160 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 16,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,830 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,090 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 324 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 180 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Bonita born?
The states with the most babies named Bonita are Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 3,523 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 2,871 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 2,461 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New York | 2,077 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Minnesota | 1,810 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Wisconsin | 1,445 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Michigan | 1,363 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 1,321 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 1,277 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Texas | 1,132 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Bonita is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bonita is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 2.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Bonita with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 38,788 babies since 1880, Bonita is the most given (98% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Bonita
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Bonita and names like it
- Compare Bonita and BonnitaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sBonita peaked in 1950.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bonita since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Bonita: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1950The year the most babies were named Bonita.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bonita alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.