Girls' name · peaked in 1930
Rita name popularity since 1925
232,365 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Rita. Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Rita is about 76 years old in 2026. Rita peaked in 1930 as the #42 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 232,365
- Named Rita, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1930
- #42 for girls that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,287 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 231,668 girls · 697 boys
- Most popular in
- Rhode Island
- 1.99× its national share
Peak year is the year Rita made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Rita births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1949. Measured as a share of all babies, Rita peaked in 1930.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, Rita's share of baby girls fell by 48%, from 1 in 576 to 1 in 1,100.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Rita's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Rita.
Decade by decade
Babies named Rita in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 24,999 | 87 | – |
| 1930s | 38,741 | 181 | #63 |
| 1940s | 49,853 | 139 | #59 |
| 1950s | 60,265 | 125 | #72 |
| 1960s | 32,883 | 106 | #126 |
| 1970s | 10,547 | 43 | #273 |
| 1980s | 6,150 | 16 | #386 |
| 1990s | 3,221 | 0 | #708 |
| 2000s | 2,169 | 0 | #1,083 |
| 2010s | 1,828 | 0 | #1,283 |
| 2020–25 | 1,012 | 0 | #1,287 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.4% of babies named Rita from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Rita is most popular
The index compares Rita's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Rita.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 1.99× | 1,627 |
| Maine | 1.89× | 1,873 |
| New Hampshire | 1.84× | 1,340 |
| Vermont | 1.73× | 667 |
| New Mexico | 1.72× | 2,197 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Rita's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Rita.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Rita (1930).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data