Ita
Feminine · “thirst”
Ita is thirst. The Irish saint Ite of Killeedy was called that, tradition says, for her thirst for divine love, and she ran a school in County Limerick in the sixth century that trained a generation of Irish churchmen. Her name is short, and its meaning is stranger than most.
How old is the name Ita?
Ita first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Ita alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 500 people named Ita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ita most popular?
Ita peaked in 1901, reaching #1679 nationally. Today it ranks #5099, 3,420 places below that high. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Íte to Ita
The story of Ita
Ite founded a community at Killeedy, which is named for her, and the medieval accounts make her the foster-mother of several major Irish saints, which gave her a wide cult. The name stayed in Irish use, particularly in Munster, and was anglicized as Ita and Ida, which is a different name entirely. It appears in American records with Irish families around the turn of the twentieth century, and it is also, unrelatedly, an Italian and Spanish name-ending used on its own.
Meaningscholars disagree
thirst
Irish tradition connects Ite to a word for thirst, and the explanation is given in her medieval life. Whether that is etymology or a story built around the name afterwards is another matter; medieval Irish lives explain names that way routinely. The saint and the tradition are documented; the derivation is not secure.
How the name formed
- Íte
- Ita
Related forms: Íde · Ida
Pronouncing Ita
EE-tah
Two syllables, stress in front, the first vowel long. The Irish Ide is said EE-djuh, which is noticeably different.
Nicknames for Ita
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1900
- Most girls named
- 201325 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1679reached in 1901
- Change vs 2024
- +108.3%25 in 2025, from 12
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ita in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Íde in Irish — same name
- Ida in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New Jersey, New York.
Itas among us
people named Ita are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 64,291 born in 2025 was named Ita
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ita sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Ita is headed
Ita should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ita beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ita in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters make it as short as a written name can be.
- It carries a documented sixth-century figure with a place named after her.
- Two open syllables make it easy in Irish, Italian and English alike.
- Ita and Ida are constantly confused, and they are different names.
- Its meaning, thirst, is unusual enough to need explaining every time.
- It is short enough to offer nothing to shorten and no formal register.
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Ita
Feminine · #5099 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Itas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Ita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ita in 2025?
- Ita ranks #5099 among US girl names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ita?
- About 1 in every 64,291 US girls born in 2025 was named Ita — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ita with classmates?
- Ita will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ita
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Janette#5099 · Loraine#5099 · Delfina#5099 · Hali#5099 · Mecca#5099 · Zoi#5099 · Afia#5099 · Emelie#5099
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ita? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ita and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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