Rita
Masculine
Rita is given to girls far more often — 284,452 girls against 778 boys since 1880. See Rita as a girl name
Rita is recorded for boys and girls alike and is usually taken as the tail end of a much longer name. That longer name has had two very famous things named after it, and neither of them has anything to do with the other.
How old is the name Rita?
Rita first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Rita alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 300 people named Rita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rita most popular?
Rita peaked in 1931, reaching #1253 nationally. See the whole 1931 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Rita
A Naples pizzaiolo is said to have made a pizza in the colors of the new Italian flag for the visiting queen, and named it after her: Margherita. The story is repeated everywhere, the documentation is thinner than the retelling suggests, and the pizza is now the standard against which every other is judged. The cocktail is a separate matter with at least six competing origin stories, most of them involving a bar somewhere on the Mexican border and a woman of the name, and none of them provable. Two of the most ordered items on earth, both named after a woman called Margaret, and in neither case can anybody say which one.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Margarita is the usual parent, and the Greek word at the far end of it is a pearl. Whether this name is that one cut down or was given whole is not recorded, and by now it functions as a complete name in several languages.
Pronouncing Rita
REE-tuh
Two syllables with the stress in front. There is nothing in it to get wrong in any of the languages that use it.
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 193228 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1253reached in 1931
- Change vs 1980
- −22.2%7 in 1984, from 9
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.
Rita in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rita in Spanish — same name
- Rita in Italian — same name
Ritas among us
people named Rita are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Rita sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables: about as clean as a name gets in any language.
- It works in English, Spanish, Italian and a good many other places without adjustment.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it does not force a reading on anyone.
- It reads as a name of an older generation in America, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- It is short enough to be heard as a short form, so people will ask what it stands for.
- No origin is documented directly, so the meaning question has to be answered about a longer name.
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Rita
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ritas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Rita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rita in 2025?
- Rita is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Rita with classmates?
- Rita will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rita? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rita and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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