Top Baby Names

Origin and Meaning of First Names.

Search this site

Rita

Gender

Female

Origin

Spanish
Pearl
Greek
Pearl; a popular form of Margaret or Margarita

Syllables

2

Themes

  • Precious Gem

Alternate Spellings and Variants of Rita

Pronunciation

r(i)-ta

Famous People

Actress Rita Moreno, Actress Rita Hayworth

Popularity in the USA

  • Boys: peak in 1931 (rank #1252, 30 births); most recent 1984 (rank #4967, 7 births)
  • Girls: peak in 1949 (rank #54, 6,652 births); most recent 2025 (rank #1285, 174 births)
Births by year in the USA
YearBoysGirls
2025–174
2024–159
2023–164
2022–178
2021–150
2020–185
2019–169
2018–185
2017–207
2016–210

Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data

Popularity in England and Wales

  • Girls: peak in 2016 (rank #573, 73 births); most recent 2025 (rank #719, 51 births)
Births by year in England and Wales
YearGirls
202551
202462
202342
202250
202159
202055
201968
201856
201752
201673

Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in France

  • Girls: peak in 1961 (rank #203, 184 births); most recent 2023 (rank #360, 161 births)
Births by year in France
YearGirls
2023161
2022153
2021164
2020144
2019129
2018149
2017134
2016137
2015126
2014112

Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Ireland

  • Girls: peak in 1964 (rank #59, 106 births); most recent 2025 (rank #692, 4 births)
Births by year in Ireland
YearGirls
20254
20247
20237
20224
20217
202010
20193
20188
20178
201610

Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)

Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Scotland

  • Girls: peak in 2024 (rank #431, 7 births); most recent 2025 (rank #632, 4 births)
Births by year in Scotland
YearGirls
20254
20247
2023–
20225
2021–
20203
20193
20184
20174
20164

Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)

Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Northern Ireland

  • Girls: peak in 2023 (rank #264, 6 births)
Births by year in Northern Ireland
YearGirls
2025–
2024–
20236
2022–
20214
2020–
20193
2018–
2017–
20163

Top girl names · Top boy names in Northern Ireland (2025)

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Baby Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1997 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)

  • Girls: peak in 1959 (rank #84, 49 births); most recent 2017 (rank #516, 7 births)
Births by year in British Columbia (Canada)
YearGirls
2023–
2022–
2021–
2020–
2019–
2018–
20177
2016–
2015–
20145

Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)

Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence