Anita
Girl nameAnita has been given to 215,849 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1957. In 2025, about 1 in 9,741 girls was named Anita.
Meaning & origin /əˈniːtə/
From Spanish Anita, diminutive of Ana (“Ann”).
Origin: Spanish
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
215,849
Peak year
1957 (5,831 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +11%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Rank through the decades
Anita's rank among U.S. girl names at 25-year milestones.
| Year | Girls rank |
|---|---|
| 1900 | #242 |
| 1925 | #146 |
| 1950 | #99 |
| 1975 | #157 |
| 2000 | #736 |
— means outside the top 1000 that year.
Spellings & variants
Names one letter away from Anita — alternate spellings parents actually use.
Famous people named Anita
Anita Desai
Indian novelist, University professor (born 1937)
Anita Włodarczyk
Polish hammer thrower
Anita Brookner
English novelist and art historian (1928–2016)
Anita Borg
American computer scientist (1949-2003)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Anita.
FAQ
How popular is the name Anita?
Anita has been given to 215,849 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It ranked below the top 1000 in 2025.
When did the name Anita peak?
Anita peaked in 1957, when 5,831 babies were given the name.
Is Anita a girl or boy name?
Anita is primarily a girl name (100% of babies named Anita are girls).
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