Rita
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Meaning
pearl (short form of Margherita); famously borne by Rita Levi-Montalcini, neurologist and Nobel laureate who discovered nerve growth factor
The story
Rita broke off from Margherita, the Italian form of Margaret, pearl in the original Greek, and became a name in its own right largely thanks to Saint Rita of Cascia, the fifteenth-century nun venerated as the patron of impossible causes. Americans embraced it early, with strong runs in the 1920s and again around the 1950s, the Rita Hayworth era, before a slow late-century fade to the steady, modest level the chart shows today. Its scientific heroine is Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Italian neurologist who, barred from her university under Mussolini's racial laws, built a secret laboratory in her bedroom, operated on chick embryos with sharpened sewing needles, and went on to discover nerve growth factor, sharing the 1986 Nobel Prize and working until her death at 103. Rita is short, saintly, and stubborn in the best way.
The formal names behind Rita
Rita is an established short form of each of these names.
Margaret · Greek origin · pearl
Margarita · Spanish origin · variant of Margaret, pearl
Rita across languages
One shared root links 17 names across 7 languages.
Shared root: from Greek margarites "pearl", by way of Latin Margarita
The constellation
13 more branches of this family
Rita in song
Lovely Rita
The Beatles (1967)
A cheerful Sgt. Pepper flirtation with a traffic warden, proof that McCartney could write a love song about anyone at all.
How popular is Rita around the world?
In the United States, 1,012 babies were named Rita between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 309,366 people in Brazil were named Rita, the 91st most common name, with a median age of 54.
Rita is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Poland, France, Austria, Spain, Scotland, Argentina, Canada, England and Wales, Ireland, Chile and Mexico City.
Rita crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 22,000
In the United States, 1,012 babies were named Rita between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rita peaked in the 1920s and the 1950s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 660
At the 2022 census, 309,366 people in Brazil were named Rita, the 91st most common name, with a median age of 54.
Among people named Rita living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,153 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Poland
1 in 1,000
In Poland, 246 girls named Rita were born in 2025, the 83rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
France
1 in 3,200
In France, about 200 girls named Rita were born in 2025, the 277th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 3,300
In Austria, 23 girls named Rita were born in 2025, the 258th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 4,500
In Spain, 10,024 residents are named Rita, the 280th most common name among women, with a mean age of 50.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Scotland
1 in 6,500
In Scotland, 7 girls named Rita were registered in 2024, the 431st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Argentina
1 in 9,200
In Argentina, 72 newborns were given the name Rita in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Canada
1 in 10,000
In Canada, 35 girls named Rita were born in 2024, the 823rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 11,000
In England and Wales, 51 girls named Rita were born in 2025, the 719th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 girls named Rita were born in 2025, the 718th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 girls were registered as Rita in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 29,000
In Mexico City, there were 4 registrations of Rita in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Rita is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Rita is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
last on record 2024
Rita is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
South Australia
last on record 2016
Rita is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
When you meet Rita
Most people given the name Rita in the United States were born between 1940 and 1969. The Rita you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Saint names for babies and confirmation · Names of geniuses and inventors · Short names · What is Rita short for?
The Rita deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rita truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Rita fits with your family’s names and surname.
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