Girls' name · since 1880
Rita
284,452 babies named Rita in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1949. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #137 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,285 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 284,452
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Rita is the #1285 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 284,452 recorded since 1880.
Rita has 284,452 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1285 as of the latest data, more common than 93% 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.
- #137 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,285 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 284,452 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Rita ranks #137 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,285 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 284,452 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #137 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,285 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 284,452
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Rita's 284,452 recorded births place it above 99.81% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Rita compares
284,452 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Rita's all-time total is 757x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Rita | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 284,452 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 6,653 | 21 | 19,840 |
Rita's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Rita's full recorded timeline at 1953, 35% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 65% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 15 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1949 peak of 6,653 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Rita popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1949)
- 6,653
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Rita popularity over time - boys
778 total births recorded since 1913 (Rita as boys' name)
Rita by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (60,265 births, 21% of the file).
1950s was Rita's strongest decade.
60,265 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.
Rita births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 325
1880s
325 births
- 1890s 1,029
1890s
1,029 births
- 1900s 1,992
1900s
1,992 births
- 1910s 23,850
1910s
23,850 births
- 1920s
1920s
50,587 births
- 1930s
1930s
38,741 births
- 1940s
1940s
49,853 births
- 1950s
1950s
60,265 births
- 1960s
1960s
32,883 births
- 1970s 10,547
1970s
10,547 births
- 1980s 6,150
1980s
6,150 births
- 1990s 3,221
1990s
3,221 births
- 2000s 2,169
2000s
2,169 births
- 2010s 1,828
2010s
1,828 births
- 2020s 1,012
2020s
1,012 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 60,265 births (21% of all-time use).
How Rita 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 Rita's total volume
Rita by state
Where Rita concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 32,468 | 11.4% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 24,168 | 8.5% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 17,643 | 6.2% |
| #4 | Massachusetts | | 17,320 | 6.1% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 16,641 | 5.9% |
| #6 | California | | 14,736 | 5.2% |
| #7 | Texas | | 13,415 | 4.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 9,815 | 3.5% |
32,468 of 284,452 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Rita appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Rita? ▼
Where does Rita sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Rita most popular? ▼
Where is Rita most popular? ▼
How long has the name Rita been used? ▼
What names are similar to Rita? ▼
What to do with Rita's data
- Rita's decade-level peak was the 1950s (60,265 total births); usage has since declined to 1,012 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Ritas (32,468 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Rita
Nearby Names Like Rita
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Rita
Compare Rita side by side: Rita vs Ritika Rita vs Rithika Rita vs Ritu
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Rita
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Rita: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1949)
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 Rita 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.