Rita
Rita was given to 174 girls in 2025, #1,287 among girls’ names; 285,230 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 138,000 Americans named Rita and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (48% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 61 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rita by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rita mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rita is “a female given name from the Romance languages, Italian, or Spanish.”
Also “a female given name from Sanskrit.”
From Romance (Italian Rita, Spanish Rita). A shortening of Italian Margherita, and Spanish Margarita, cognates of English Margaret. An Italian Saint Rita was canonized in 1900. The English name came into regular use in early twentieth century.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rita?
#1,287 among girls’ names, 2025
Rita fell from #1,283 in 2015 to #1,287 in 2025 among girls’ names, although its share of girls born held at 0.11 per 1,000.
6,669 babies in 1949, the peak
Rita peaked in 1949, when 6,669 babies were given it (6,653 girls, #54 among girls’ names). The 174 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 174 | #1,287 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 161 | #1,397 | 0.10 |
| 2023 | 164 | #1,376 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 178 | #1,323 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 150 | #1,437 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 185 | #1,234 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 169 | #1,348 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 185 | #1,254 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 207 | #1,186 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 210 | #1,190 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 190 | #1,283 | 0.11 |
| 2014 | 171 | #1,367 | 0.10 |
| 2013 | 182 | #1,291 | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 169 | #1,382 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 169 | #1,368 | 0.10 |
| 2010 | 176 | #1,341 | 0.10 |
| 2009 | 166 | #1,419 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 186 | #1,328 | 0.10 |
| 2007 | 210 | #1,202 | 0.11 |
| 2006 | 207 | #1,180 | 0.11 |
| 2005 | 220 | #1,083 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 216 | #1,072 | 0.12 |
| 2003 | 199 | #1,110 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 244 | #918 | 0.14 |
| 2001 | 270 | #849 | 0.15 |
| 2000 | 251 | #880 | 0.14 |
| 1999 | 229 | #922 | 0.13 |
| 1998 | 246 | #864 | 0.14 |
| 1997 | 240 | #854 | 0.14 |
| 1996 | 303 | #704 | 0.17 |
| 1995 | 296 | #707 | 0.17 |
| 1994 | 318 | #671 | 0.18 |
| 1993 | 342 | #653 | 0.19 |
| 1992 | 390 | #589 | 0.21 |
| 1991 | 423 | #553 | 0.23 |
| 1990 | 434 | #544 | 0.23 |
| 1989 | 412 | #551 | 0.22 |
| 1988 | 485 | #466 | 0.27 |
| 1987 | 518 | #432 | 0.30 |
| 1986 | 544 | #408 | 0.32 |
| 1985 | 588 | #386 | 0.34 |
| 1984 | 607 | #377 | 0.36 |
| 1983 | 592 | #376 | 0.35 |
| 1982 | 709 | #338 | 0.42 |
| 1981 | 855 | #284 | 0.51 |
| 1980 | 840 | #297 | 0.51 |
| 1979 | 881 | #277 | 0.55 |
| 1978 | 892 | #263 | 0.58 |
| 1977 | 802 | #295 | 0.52 |
| 1976 | 859 | #271 | 0.59 |
| 1975 | 883 | #273 | 0.61 |
| 1974 | 992 | #256 | 0.68 |
| 1973 | 1,031 | #248 | 0.71 |
| 1972 | 1,199 | #230 | 0.79 |
| 1971 | 1,418 | #215 | 0.85 |
| 1970 | 1,590 | #203 | 0.91 |
| 1969 | 1,736 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1968 | 2,073 | #159 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,380 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 1966 | 2,688 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1965 | 3,067 | #126 | 1.7 |
| 1964 | 3,470 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1963 | 3,808 | #115 | 2.0 |
| 1962 | 4,102 | #110 | 2.1 |
| 1961 | 4,532 | #105 | 2.2 |
| 1960 | 5,027 | #96 | 2.5 |
| 1959 | 4,952 | #98 | 2.4 |
| 1958 | 5,340 | #88 | 2.7 |
| 1957 | 6,018 | #78 | 2.9 |
| 1956 | 6,054 | #79 | 3.0 |
| 1955 | 6,094 | #72 | 3.1 |
| 1954 | 6,536 | #67 | 3.4 |
| 1953 | 6,284 | #64 | 3.3 |
| 1952 | 6,148 | #66 | 3.3 |
| 1951 | 6,415 | #61 | 3.6 |
| 1950 | 6,424 | #56 | 3.8 |
| 1949 | 6,653 | #54 | 3.9 |
| 1948 | 5,835 | #59 | 3.4 |
| 1947 | 5,982 | #60 | 3.4 |
| 1946 | 5,533 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1945 | 4,282 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1944 | 4,530 | #54 | 3.4 |
| 1943 | 5,011 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1942 | 4,706 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1941 | 3,879 | #63 | 3.2 |
| 1940 | 3,442 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 1939 | 3,188 | #78 | 2.9 |
| 1938 | 3,357 | #74 | 3.0 |
| 1937 | 3,421 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 1936 | 3,334 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 1935 | 3,579 | #63 | 3.4 |
| 1934 | 3,683 | #63 | 3.5 |
| 1933 | 3,840 | #53 | 3.8 |
| 1932 | 4,256 | #53 | 4.0 |
| 1931 | 4,613 | #48 | 4.3 |
| 1930 | 5,470 | #42 | 4.9 |
| 1929 | 4,767 | #52 | 4.3 |
| 1928 | 4,810 | #57 | 4.2 |
| 1927 | 5,084 | #54 | 4.3 |
| 1926 | 5,015 | #50 | 4.2 |
| 1925 | 5,323 | #48 | 4.4 |
| 1924 | 5,381 | #49 | 4.3 |
| 1923 | 5,095 | #50 | 4.2 |
| 1922 | 4,976 | #52 | 4.1 |
| 1921 | 5,157 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 1920 | 4,979 | #52 | 4.2 |
| 1919 | 4,515 | #54 | 4.0 |
| 1918 | 4,447 | #58 | 3.8 |
| 1917 | 3,870 | #63 | 3.6 |
| 1916 | 3,477 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 1915 | 3,063 | #71 | 3.1 |
| 1914 | 2,010 | #87 | 2.6 |
| 1913 | 1,096 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1912 | 636 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1911 | 403 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 333 | #198 | 0.84 |
| 1909 | 295 | #197 | 0.85 |
| 1908 | 255 | #212 | 0.76 |
| 1907 | 266 | #196 | 0.83 |
| 1906 | 203 | #219 | 0.69 |
| 1905 | 188 | #229 | 0.64 |
| 1904 | 166 | #242 | 0.60 |
| 1903 | 174 | #228 | 0.66 |
| 1902 | 148 | #257 | 0.56 |
| 1901 | 135 | #249 | 0.56 |
| 1900 | 162 | #256 | 0.54 |
| 1899 | 147 | #228 | 0.63 |
| 1898 | 146 | #244 | 0.56 |
| 1897 | 117 | #264 | 0.50 |
| 1896 | 109 | #275 | 0.46 |
| 1895 | 105 | #275 | 0.45 |
| 1894 | 104 | #273 | 0.47 |
| 1893 | 95 | #275 | 0.45 |
| 1892 | 87 | #291 | 0.41 |
| 1891 | 65 | #314 | 0.35 |
| 1890 | 54 | #349 | 0.28 |
| 1889 | 75 | #276 | 0.42 |
| 1888 | 52 | #335 | 0.29 |
| 1887 | 40 | #342 | 0.27 |
| 1886 | 28 | #414 | 0.19 |
| 1885 | 31 | #372 | 0.23 |
| 1884 | 24 | #414 | 0.19 |
| 1883 | 15 | #514 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 21 | #402 | 0.19 |
| 1881 | 20 | #382 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 19 | #385 | 0.21 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Rita a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rita has been given almost only to girls: 778 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Rita: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rita, and how old are they?
138,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 48% of the 285,230 Americans ever recorded as Rita. The median Rita alive today is 70 years old; half are between 61 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 184,218 people named Rita (184,019 women and girls, 199 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 161,148 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% 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 | 21,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 80,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 21,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,590 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,360 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,310 |
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 Rita born?
The states with the most babies named Rita are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 32,484 | #1,075 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 24,168 | #1,090 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 17,649 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Massachusetts | 17,320 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Ohio | 16,641 | #1,410 | 1.1× |
| California | 14,736 | #1,108 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 13,415 | #1,768 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 9,815 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 8,354 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 8,139 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Rita is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rita is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 Rita 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 305,386 babies since 1880, Rita is the most given (93% of them). In 2025 it was given to 174 of their 182 babies (96%), again the 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 Rita
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 Rita and names like it
- Compare Rita and RethaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sRita peaked in 1949.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rita since 1910.
- The top names of 1949The year the most babies were named Rita.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Rita alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.