# Anita (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/anita/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Spanish |
| Meaning | “ann” |
| Pronunciation | /əˈniːtə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 215,849 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 684 / 215,165 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,119, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Spanish Anita, diminutive of Ana (“Ann”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 181 | 1,301 |
| 2012 | 151 | 1,491 |
| 2013 | 151 | 1,470 |
| 2014 | 164 | 1,400 |
| 2015 | 148 | 1,521 |
| 2016 | 175 | 1,353 |
| 2017 | 188 | 1,258 |
| 2018 | 172 | 1,319 |
| 2019 | 191 | 1,230 |
| 2020 | 138 | 1,534 |
| 2021 | 154 | 1,410 |
| 2022 | 168 | 1,373 |
| 2023 | 155 | 1,439 |
| 2024 | 149 | 1,467 |
| 2025 | 165 | 1,342 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 10 | 3,233 |
| 1974 | 10 | 3,333 |
| 1975 | 5 | 5,500 |
| 1977 | 9 | 3,843 |
| 1978 | 8 | 4,168 |
| 1979 | 11 | 3,573 |
| 1981 | 7 | 4,982 |
| 1982 | 5 | 6,416 |
| 1983 | 6 | 5,515 |
| 1985 | 8 | 4,724 |
| 1986 | 5 | 6,772 |
| 1987 | 6 | 6,131 |
| 1988 | 5 | 7,337 |
| 1989 | 9 | 5,185 |
| 1990 | 6 | 7,222 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 48 | 776 |
| 2012 | 36 | 998 |
| 2013 | 28 | 1,220 |
| 2014 | 29 | 1,177 |
| 2015 | 33 | 1,057 |
| 2016 | 25 | 1,327 |
| 2017 | 27 | 1,258 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,526 |
| 2019 | 26 | 1,252 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1,352 |
| 2021 | 22 | 1,402 |
| 2022 | 27 | 1,215 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2,063 |
| 2024 | 17 | 1,743 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,278 |

## In other languages

- Finnish: Anita, Anitta
- Hindi: अनिता
- Polish: Anita
- Portuguese: Anita
- Spanish: Anita
- Welsh: Anita

## People named Anita

- Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (1928–2016)
- Anita Loos, American actress and writer (1888–1981)
- Anita Borg, American computer scientist (1949-2003)
- Anita Baker, American singer
- Anita Page, American actress (1910-2008)
- Anita Bryant, American singer and activist (1940–2024)
- Anita Roddick, British business woman, founder of The Body Shop (1942-2007)
- Anita Pallenberg, German-Italian actress, model and muse of the Rolling Stones
- Anita Sarkeesian, American blogger (born 1983)
- Anita O'Day, American jazz singer (1919–2006)
- Anita Hill, American law professor; witness in Clarence Thomas controversy
- Anita Augspurg, German jurist, actress, writer, editor, and activist (1857–1943)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.