Rita

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled ריטה in IL Israel, LV Latvia, AR Argentina.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 23 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Rita is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese given name7.2M records spelled Rita36 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Mexico

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian

  Also written Rița, Ríta, Rìta, Rïtä, Rìtà

• Hindi given name2.8M records spelled Rita117 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Bangladesh, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hindi, Bangla, Urdu

  Also written Reeta, Reta, রীতা, রিতা, Rata

• Hungarian given name342K records spelled Rita18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, Finland, United States, India

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Rîtâ, Rīta, Řiţa, Ŕița, Rįtã

• Indonesian given name130K records spelled Rita15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, India, United States, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Malagasy

  Also written 'Rita, Rïtä, Rîta, Rità, Ŕita

• Russian given name109K records spelled Rita66 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish

  Also written Рита, Ріта, Ryta, Рета, Рыта

• a separate given name95K records spelled Rita5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Italy

  Also written Rītā, Rīta, Rīṭā, Ritá

• Lithuanian given name73K records spelled Rita16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Lithuania, Latvia, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Lithuanian, Latvian

  Also written Rīta, Ritã, Rītã, Rïtå, Řiťa

91 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Rita is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Portuguese, form of Margharita Margaret (see Marguerite), chosen in particular in honour of a i5th-cent. It. saint who bore the name in this form. Ritch see Rich 526 Ritchard Robinov Ritchard see Richard Roake see Rock Ritters see Rider Roan see Ruane Rival see Reuben

  as a name·The Oxford Names Companion - The definitive guide to Surnames, First Names, and Place Names of the British Isles

• In English, A female given name from the Romance languages, Italian, or Spanish.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Rita är ett italienskt namn, ursprungligen en smekform till Margherita (→ Margareta) och på senare tid även till namn som → Carita, → Marita. Det kan också vara en skrivning för finskans → Riitta. Den amerikanska skådespelerskan Rita Hayworth (1918–87) har troligen bidragit till namnets spridning. I den rikssvenska almanackan 6 maj och i den finlandssvenska 17 februari.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In Spanish, Diminutive of Margarita.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

• In French, Forme courte de Margarita; du grec margaritēs, «perle».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ritab. 1381ITItalian Augustinian nun
• Mercedes of Orléansb. 1860ESnot in their usual nameQueen consort of Spain
• Rita Levi-Montalcinib. 1909ITItalian neurologist (1909–2012)
• Rita Johnsonb. 1913USactress (1913-1965)
• Rita Pavoneb. 1945ITItalian actress and singer (1945-)
• Rita Marleyb. 1946CUJamaican musician
• Mia Martinib. 1947ITnot in their usual nameItalian singer (1947–1995)
• Rita Wilsonb. 1956USAmerican actress, singer and producer
• Rita Orab. 1990GBEnglish-Albanian singer and actress
• Rita PatelINcricketer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,887 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Rita?

We estimate roughly 637 thousand people bear Rita (counting its spellings and scripts) across 15 countries in our records.

In which country does Rita have the most bearers?

Rita is most frequently recorded in India, where it is most often spelled rita.

Where is Rita most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Rita is densest in Finland — about 1 in 153 people — even though India holds more of our records for it.

How common is Rita compared with other names?

In India, Rita is the 27th most common given name of 4,777,337 given names recorded there.

Is Rita a male or female name?

Rita is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Rita mean?

Recorded meaning: Short form of Margarita, from Greek margaritēs 'pearl'.