Rita
A short form of Margarita, the Spanish and Italian Margaret, “pearl.”
1949peak year
No. 42best rank (1930)
285,230babies since 1880
—outside top 1000 in 2025
Popularity, 1880–2025
Rita appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1914 to 1960. Its biggest year was 1949, when 6,653 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 54 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1930, at No. 42. All told, 285,230 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other names that share a story: Margaret
Explore Rita interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 325 | No. 275 |
| 1890s | 1,029 | No. 227 |
| 1900s | 1,992 | No. 196 |
| 1910s | 23,850 | No. 54 |
| 1920s | 50,587 | No. 48 |
| 1930s | 38,741 | No. 42 |
| 1940s | 49,853 | No. 52 |
| 1950s | 60,265 | No. 56 |
| 1960s | 32,883 | No. 96 |
| 1970s | 10,547 | No. 203 |
| 1980s | 6,150 | No. 284 |
| 1990s | 3,221 | No. 545 |
| 2000s | 2,169 | No. 846 |
| 2010s | 1,828 | No. 1182 |
| 2020s | 1,012 | No. 1231 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.