The first name Rita
A girl’s name.
2 syllables Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
From Romance (Italian Rita, Spanish Rita). A shortening of Italian Margherita, and Spanish Margarita, cognates of English Margaret. An Italian Saint Rita was canonized in 1900. The English name came into regular use in early twentieth century.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 51 girls were named Rita, making it the 719th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 2016, with 73 births (#573).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Rita with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Rita at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 174 girls born in the United States were named Rita, the 1,287th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1949, when 6,653 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Rita in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Spelled Rita in French, Hungarian and Polish too.
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Rita
66 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Rita OraEnglish-Albanian singer and actress, born 1990
- Rita WilsonAmerican actress, singer and producer, born 1956
- Rita LeeBrazilian singer, songwriter, author, actress and television host (1947–2023)
- Rita CoolidgeAmerican recording artist; singer, born 1945
- Rita DoveAmerican poet, essayist, and university teacher (born 1952)
- Rita TushinghamEnglish actress, born 1942
- Rita of ArmeniaByzantine empress as Maria, 1278–1333
- Rita GamAmerican actress (1927–2016)
- Rita SargsyanFirst Lady of Armenia, 1962–2020
- Rita RudnerAmerican comedian, born 1953
- Rita VerdonkDutch politician, born 1955
- Rita KühneEast German sprinter, born 1947
Questions
- What does the name Rita mean?
- From Romance (Italian Rita, Spanish Rita). A shortening of Italian Margherita, and Spanish Margarita, cognates of English Margaret. An Italian Saint Rita was canonized in 1900. The English name came into regular use in early twentieth century.
- How popular is the name Rita?
- In 2025, 51 girls born in England and Wales were named Rita, ranking 719th. Its peak was 2016, with 73 births.
- Is Rita a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 285,230 US babies named Rita since 1880 were girls.
- When was Rita most popular?
- 1949 in the United States, when 6,653 babies were named Rita, its highest rank at 54th.
- What are other spellings of Rita?
- Reta, Reeta, Reetha, Retha and Ritha.
- Is Rita also a surname?
- Yes. Rita is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.