Lita
Feminine · “Latin dolor”
Spanish gives girls the Virgin's sorrows as a name. Dolores is the Mater Dolorosa, shown with seven swords in her heart, one for each grief. Soledad is her solitude, Angustias her anguish, Amparo her shelter. A whole class of names commemorates a moment of pain.
How old is the name Lita?
Lita first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Lita alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 3,000 people named Lita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lita most popular?
Lita peaked in 1927, reaching #696 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 8,761 places below that high. See the whole 1927 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From dolor to Lita
The story of Lita
The Marian title names are a distinctively Iberian class and a large share of them commemorate suffering. Dolores is Our Lady of Sorrows, whose devotion counts seven specific griefs, from the prophecy of Simeon to the burial of Christ, and whose image carries a sword or seven swords through the heart. Soledad is her solitude on Holy Saturday. Angustias is her anguish. Piedad is her pity. Set beside them are the consoling ones: Consuelo, consolation; Socorro, help; Amparo, shelter; Remedios, remedies; Mercedes, mercies. The whole set treats the Virgin as a person with a documented emotional history and names girls after episodes in it. English devotional naming never did this, which is why an English speaker meeting Dolores hears only a Spanish name and not a woman named for grief.
Meaningscholars disagree
Latin dolor, sorrow
Lita is a Spanish familiar form of names ending in -lita, chiefly Dolorita from Dolores, and also Carmelita, Rosalita and Angelita. Dolores is from Latin dolor, grief, and names the Virgin of Sorrows. In American records the spelling may equally be a clipping of Lolita or Melita. The peak is 1927.
How the name formed
- dolor
- Dolores
- Dolorita
- Lita
Related forms: Lita · Lita
Pronouncing Lita
LEE-tah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and English agree. It is easily confused with Rita and Lida in speech.
Nicknames for Lita
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
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 1957112 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #696reached in 1927
- Change vs 2022
- −64.3%10 in 2025, from 28
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.
Lita in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lita in Spanish — same name
- Lita in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Litas among us
people named Lita are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Lita
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ozella test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lita's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ozella climbed just as high around 1905, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ozella's path sketches the road Lita is walking now.
Lita 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
Lita beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lita in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, easy in both languages.
- Several formal names are available behind it.
- The vowels are open and clear.
- It reads as a familiar form rather than a formal name.
- Which parent name it stands for is not recoverable.
- Rita and Lida are close competitors in sound.
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What they receive
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Lita
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Litas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,000 people named Lita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lita in 2025?
- Lita ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lita?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Lita — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lita with classmates?
- Lita will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lita
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lita? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lita and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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