Marita
Marita was given to 17 girls in 2025, #6,731 among girls’ names; 5,088 Americans have been recorded with it since 1901 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,380 Americans named Marita and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (66% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 45 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Marita by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Marita mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Marita is “a female given name from Ancient Greek occasionally used in English.”
Borrowed in the late 19th century from Norwegian Marita. By folk etymology, explained as a Spanish diminutive of Maria, by analogy with Anita.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Marita?
#6,731 among girls’ names, 2025
Marita rose from #9,304 in 2015 to #6,731 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 6.7 to 10.6 per million.
125 babies in 1954, the peak
Marita peaked in 1954, when 125 girls were given it, #843 among girls’ names. The 17 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #6,731 | 10.6 |
| 2024 | 8 | #11,773 | 4.9 |
| 2023 | 16 | #7,135 | 10.0 |
| 2022 | 6 | #14,685 | 3.7 |
| 2021 | 14 | #7,880 | 8.5 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,992 | 4.3 |
| 2019 | 10 | #10,208 | 6.0 |
| 2018 | 16 | #7,296 | 9.4 |
| 2017 | 11 | #9,717 | 6.4 |
| 2016 | 18 | #6,815 | 10.2 |
Every recorded year (118)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | #9,304 | 6.7 |
| 2014 | 16 | #7,525 | 9.0 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,406 | 6.8 |
| 2012 | 16 | #7,671 | 9.1 |
| 2011 | 10 | #10,892 | 5.7 |
| 2010 | 16 | #7,762 | 9.0 |
| 2009 | 6 | #16,518 | 3.3 |
| 2008 | 11 | #10,532 | 5.8 |
| 2007 | 8 | #13,449 | 4.2 |
| 2006 | 12 | #9,686 | 6.3 |
| 2005 | 15 | #7,765 | 8.1 |
| 2004 | 10 | #10,416 | 5.4 |
| 2003 | 13 | #8,311 | 7.1 |
| 2002 | 25 | #4,842 | 13.9 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,984 | 10.6 |
| 2000 | 20 | #5,609 | 11.0 |
| 1999 | 17 | #6,093 | 9.6 |
| 1998 | 15 | #6,581 | 8.5 |
| 1997 | 13 | #7,124 | 7.5 |
| 1996 | 12 | #7,409 | 6.8 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,620 | 12.5 |
| 1994 | 23 | #4,457 | 12.9 |
| 1993 | 33 | #3,385 | 18.2 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,163 | 13.6 |
| 1991 | 29 | #3,679 | 15.5 |
| 1990 | 35 | #3,193 | 18.4 |
| 1989 | 29 | #3,528 | 15.7 |
| 1988 | 24 | #3,850 | 13.5 |
| 1987 | 28 | #3,298 | 16.1 |
| 1986 | 29 | #3,174 | 16.9 |
| 1985 | 42 | #2,384 | 24.4 |
| 1984 | 43 | #2,280 | 25.5 |
| 1983 | 33 | #2,704 | 19.8 |
| 1982 | 49 | #2,097 | 28.9 |
| 1981 | 43 | #2,331 | 25.8 |
| 1980 | 45 | #2,234 | 27.1 |
| 1979 | 33 | #2,705 | 20.6 |
| 1978 | 46 | #2,076 | 30.0 |
| 1977 | 30 | #2,751 | 19.6 |
| 1976 | 38 | #2,238 | 25.9 |
| 1975 | 42 | #2,086 | 28.8 |
| 1974 | 41 | #2,048 | 27.9 |
| 1973 | 42 | #1,962 | 28.8 |
| 1972 | 34 | #2,258 | 22.4 |
| 1971 | 42 | #2,024 | 25.2 |
| 1970 | 41 | #2,033 | 23.5 |
| 1969 | 49 | #1,747 | 29.0 |
| 1968 | 54 | #1,569 | 32.9 |
| 1967 | 63 | #1,391 | 38.2 |
| 1966 | 75 | #1,248 | 44.3 |
| 1965 | 72 | #1,269 | 40.8 |
| 1964 | 80 | #1,235 | 42.2 |
| 1963 | 84 | #1,196 | 43.6 |
| 1962 | 98 | #1,102 | 49.8 |
| 1961 | 103 | #1,082 | 51.0 |
| 1960 | 109 | #1,036 | 53.9 |
| 1959 | 95 | #1,101 | 46.9 |
| 1958 | 118 | #951 | 58.7 |
| 1957 | 106 | #1,018 | 51.8 |
| 1956 | 111 | #959 | 55.3 |
| 1955 | 121 | #886 | 61.9 |
| 1954 | 125 | #843 | 64.4 |
| 1953 | 106 | #917 | 56.3 |
| 1952 | 92 | #985 | 49.6 |
| 1951 | 100 | #918 | 55.5 |
| 1950 | 82 | #1,013 | 47.9 |
| 1949 | 94 | #915 | 54.9 |
| 1948 | 95 | #893 | 56.0 |
| 1947 | 85 | #966 | 47.9 |
| 1946 | 86 | #903 | 54.7 |
| 1945 | 59 | #1,009 | 45.1 |
| 1944 | 55 | #1,059 | 41.4 |
| 1943 | 73 | #911 | 52.3 |
| 1942 | 78 | #881 | 57.7 |
| 1941 | 83 | #794 | 68.7 |
| 1940 | 65 | #890 | 56.8 |
| 1939 | 56 | #949 | 51.1 |
| 1938 | 83 | #769 | 75.2 |
| 1937 | 59 | #900 | 55.4 |
| 1936 | 49 | #988 | 47.1 |
| 1935 | 67 | #845 | 63.9 |
| 1934 | 59 | #892 | 56.5 |
| 1933 | 67 | #818 | 66.5 |
| 1932 | 53 | #975 | 49.7 |
| 1931 | 44 | #1,067 | 41.3 |
| 1930 | 41 | #1,174 | 36.4 |
| 1929 | 40 | #1,187 | 35.8 |
| 1928 | 39 | #1,232 | 33.8 |
| 1927 | 41 | #1,223 | 34.4 |
| 1926 | 33 | #1,403 | 27.8 |
| 1925 | 39 | #1,264 | 32.0 |
| 1924 | 44 | #1,200 | 35.2 |
| 1923 | 38 | #1,277 | 31.5 |
| 1922 | 26 | #1,669 | 21.6 |
| 1921 | 34 | #1,394 | 27.6 |
| 1920 | 27 | #1,606 | 22.5 |
| 1919 | 31 | #1,413 | 27.4 |
| 1918 | 36 | #1,272 | 31.1 |
| 1917 | 25 | #1,537 | 23.1 |
| 1916 | 22 | #1,661 | 21.1 |
| 1915 | 28 | #1,359 | 28.5 |
| 1914 | 14 | #1,871 | 18.4 |
| 1913 | 16 | #1,504 | 25.6 |
| 1912 | 10 | #1,930 | 17.9 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,719 | 12.0 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,482 | 27.7 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,745 | 22.0 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,596 | 25.1 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Marita a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Marita has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 118 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Marita: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Marita, and how old are they?
3,380 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 66% of the 5,088 Americans ever recorded as Marita. The median Marita alive today is 63 years old; half are between 45 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 5,506 people named Marita (5,499 women and girls, 7 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,674 born in the U.S. The Census count is 50% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 343 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,470 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 689 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 484 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 223 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 162 |
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 Marita born?
The states with the most babies named Marita are Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York, with 49% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 363 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 242 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 175 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 121 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 120 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Texas | 100 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| California | 96 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| New Jersey | 51 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Kentucky | 47 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Kansas | 39 | not ranked | 0.6× |
Where Marita is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Marita is most over-represented in Pennsylvania: since 1910 it was given 1.1 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 Marita 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 44,938 babies since 1880, Marita is the third most given (11% of them). In 2025 it was given to 17 of their 165 babies (10%), again the third most given.
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 Marita
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 Marita and names like it
- Compare Marita and MartaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sMarita peaked in 1954.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Marita since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Marita: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1954The year the most babies were named Marita.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Marita alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.