Rita has been given to about 285,230 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1949, which makes it a midcentury name.
Its best year was 1949, when 6,669 babies were given the name, ranking 54th. The typical living American called Rita is about 72 years old today. It is relatively most common in Maryland, where it accounts for 0.02% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.