Rita

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Rita: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Rita: Recorded every year since 1945, it reached #25 in 1963, and it stood at #718 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
168times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#25highest recorded position
29groupings it qualifies for
22names it appears alongside

What stands out in Rita's record

Ranked every year since 1945, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 36 years running. Names by top-100 run
Shares a published list with another name across 79 years. Longest shared records

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1755
1997	#1287
1998	#1571
1999	#1107
2000	#1389
2001	#1359
2002	#1192
2003	#1176
2004	#1158
2005	#1406
2006	#1325
2007	#1234
2008	#1093
2009	#1365
2010	#1653
2011	#1067
2012	#916
2013	#699
2014	#625
2015	#735
2016	#573
2017	#764
2018	#710
2019	#584
2020	#674
2021	#654
2022	#729
2023	#851
2024	#625

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 79 of the 80 years from 1945 to 2024.

In 2024: #431 among girls in Scotland, #473 among girls in Norway, #504 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #625 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #116 among girls in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Highest recorded1945–2024
Highest recorded position: #25 among girls in Norway, in 1963 (recorded 1945–2024).
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #718 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Rita appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Girls, which has ranked it in 79 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 6,801 births with the name.

Rita across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Rita's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Girls	#116 (1945)	#25 (1963)	#473 (2024)	79 of 80	6,801 (1945–2024)	332 (1963)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#59 (1964)	#59 (1964)	#718 (2025)	55 of 62	1,299 (1964–2025)	106 (1964)
England and Wales · Girls	#1755 (1996)	#573 (2016)	#625 (2024)	29 of 29	1,021 (1996–2024)	73 (2016)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#440 (2016)	#264 (2023)	#264 (2023)	4 of 8	16 (2016–2023)	6 (2023)

Rita by decade in Norway · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Rita in Norway · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	358	5 of 10	72
1950s	1,658	10 of 10	166
1960sbusiest	2,328	10 of 10	233
1970s	1,489	10 of 10	149
1980s	608	10 of 10	61
1990s	191	10 of 10	19
2000s	77	10 of 10	8
2010s	67	10 of 10	7
2020s	25	4 of 10	6

Across Norway · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade, averaging 233 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1962 and 1963, when recorded births rose by 87, from 245 to 332.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Rita appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #25 in Norway in 1963.

Rita's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#625	62	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#851	42	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#729	50	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#654	59	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#674	55	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#584	68	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#710	56	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#764	52	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#573	73	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#735	53	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#625	65	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#699	57	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#916	40	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#1067	32	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#1653	17	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#1365	21	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#1093	27	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#1234	22	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1325	19	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1406	16	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1158	20	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1176	19	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1192	17	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1359	14	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1389	13	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1107	18	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1571	11	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1287	14	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1755	9	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	female	#264	6	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#350	4	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#424	3	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#440	3	High	Verified
2024	Norway	female	#473	5	High	Verified
2022	Norway	female	#381	8	High	Verified
2021	Norway	female	#380	8	High	Verified
2020	Norway	female	#506	4	High	Verified
2019	Norway	female	#380	9	High	Verified
2018	Norway	female	#525	4	High	Verified
2017	Norway	female	#409	9	High	Verified
2016	Norway	female	#440	8	High	Verified
2015	Norway	female	#471	7	High	Verified
2014	Norway	female	#461	7	High	Verified
2013	Norway	female	#409	10	High	Verified
2012	Norway	female	#549	5	High	Verified
2011	Norway	female	#597	4	High	Verified
2010	Norway	female	#607	4	High	Verified
2009	Norway	female	#467	8	High	Verified
2008	Norway	female	#576	5	High	Verified
2007	Norway	female	#434	9	High	Verified
2006	Norway	female	#500	7	High	Verified
2005	Norway	female	#409	9	High	Verified
2004	Norway	female	#494	6	High	Verified
2003	Norway	female	#566	5	High	Verified
2002	Norway	female	#427	8	High	Verified
2001	Norway	female	#318	13	High	Verified
2000	Norway	female	#478	7	High	Verified
1999	Norway	female	#315	13	High	Verified
1998	Norway	female	#313	13	High	Verified
1997	Norway	female	#480	7	High	Verified
1996	Norway	female	#276	16	High	Verified
1995	Norway	female	#241	21	High	Verified
1994	Norway	female	#236	22	High	Verified
1993	Norway	female	#282	17	High	Verified
1992	Norway	female	#216	25	High	Verified
1991	Norway	female	#226	27	High	Verified
1990	Norway	female	#202	30	High	Verified
1989	Norway	female	#169	41	High	Verified
1988	Norway	female	#158	43	High	Verified
1987	Norway	female	#119	62	High	Verified
1986	Norway	female	#111	64	High	Verified
1985	Norway	female	#117	59	High	Verified
1984	Norway	female	#110	62	High	Verified
1983	Norway	female	#96	74	High	Verified
1982	Norway	female	#113	59	High	Verified
1981	Norway	female	#100	70	High	Verified
1980	Norway	female	#97	74	High	Verified
1979	Norway	female	#75	99	High	Verified
1978	Norway	female	#76	103	High	Verified
1977	Norway	female	#77	100	High	Verified
1976	Norway	female	#65	115	High	Verified
1975	Norway	female	#54	153	High	Verified
1974	Norway	female	#50	167	High	Verified
1973	Norway	female	#49	169	High	Verified
1972	Norway	female	#40	215	High	Verified
1971	Norway	female	#46	198	High	Verified
1970	Norway	female	#48	170	High	Verified
1969	Norway	female	#44	204	High	Verified
1968	Norway	female	#42	222	High	Verified
1967	Norway	female	#40	213	High	Verified
1966	Norway	female	#35	241	High	Verified
1965	Norway	female	#39	222	High	Verified
1964	Norway	female	#30	263	High	Verified
1963	Norway	female	#25	332	High	Verified
1962	Norway	female	#32	245	High	Verified
1961	Norway	female	#49	190	High	Verified
1960	Norway	female	#44	196	High	Verified
1959	Norway	female	#45	209	High	Verified
1958	Norway	female	#51	187	High	Verified
1957	Norway	female	#51	202	High	Verified
1956	Norway	female	#48	205	High	Verified
1955	Norway	female	#50	197	High	Verified
1954	Norway	female	#50	173	High	Verified
1953	Norway	female	#55	151	High	Verified
1952	Norway	female	#57	124	High	Verified
1951	Norway	female	#62	106	High	Verified
1950	Norway	female	#64	104	High	Verified
1949	Norway	female	#64	94	High	Verified
1948	Norway	female	#77	82	High	Verified
1947	Norway	female	#96	64	High	Verified
1946	Norway	female	#84	72	High	Verified
1945	Norway	female	#116	46	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#718	4	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#504	7	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#495	7	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#747	4	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#517	7	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#375	10	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#871	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#474	8	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#471	8	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#419	10	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#532	7	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#876	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#894	3	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#612	6	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#695	5	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#758	4	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#546	7	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#549	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	4	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#512	4	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#536	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#304	10	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#295	10	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#272	12	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#240	14	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#320	9	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#262	14	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#250	14	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#268	12	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#250	14	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#262	14	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#256	15	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#227	17	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#208	23	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#213	23	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#195	26	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#223	23	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#199	29	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#168	42	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#201	27	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#195	29	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#150	46	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#161	39	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#164	39	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#172	37	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#155	42	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#137	50	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#139	48	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#148	39	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#116	59	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#112	53	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#87	80	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#80	79	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#76	85	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#59	106	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#431	7	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Norway hub — collected by Statistics Norway (SSB)
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 81 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #25, first reached in 1963.

It held a top-100 place in 37 years, 36 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 332 births, registered in Norway in 1963.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 79 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Rishi · #424, 29y
Rishika · #1983, 22y
Ritchie · #451, 29y
Rithik · #1241, 16y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Laila · #23, 81y
Hanna · #22, 81y
Kirsten · #20, 80y
Lena · #20, 81y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Egil · #25, 79y
Even · #25, 81y
Jane · #25, 81y
Trude · #25, 59y

Comparisons involving Rita

Existing comparison pages where Rita and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Rita in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Alice vs Rita
In 1964 they stood at #57 and #59 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 2 places apart; by 2025 they were #41 and #718.
Alice · Rita · 55 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Orla vs Rita
In 1964 they stood at #52 and #59 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 7 places apart; by 2025 they were #189 and #718.
Orla · Rita · 55 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Jane vs Rita
In 1964 they stood at #59 and #59 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 0 places apart; by 2025 they were #213 and #718.
Jane · Rita · 55 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Rita and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Silje vs Rita
In Norway · Girls, Silje moved into the top 50 at #20 in 1975 as Rita fell out of it to #54, having been #50 the year before.
Silje · Rita · 58 shared years, 1966–2024 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 1975 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Rita measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Rita at its highest position.

Maria vs Rita
In 1945 they stood at #126 and #116 in Norway · Girls, 10 places apart; by 2024 they were #61 and #473.
Maria · Rita · 79 shared years, 1945–2024 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2024 Norway ranking
Helene vs Rita
In 1945 they stood at #110 and #116 in Norway · Girls, 6 places apart; by 2024 they were #130 and #473.
Helene · Rita · 79 shared years, 1945–2024 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2024 Norway ranking
Gunn vs Rita
Gunn and Rita changed places 17 times in Norway · Girls between 1945 and 2005, ending at #546 and #409.
Gunn · Rita · 60 shared years, 1945–2005 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2005 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Rita was ranked #25 in Norway · Girls in 1963. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Rita and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Rita without appearing here.

Rita moved ahead of

Geraldine Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1359 and #1170 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1192 and #2301.
Debra Compare
In 1998 they stood at #1571 and #1392 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1999 that had become #1107 and #2189.
Janice Compare
In 2010 they stood at #1653 and #1584 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #1067 and #2025.
Suzanne Compare
In 2010 they stood at #1653 and #1389 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #1067 and #2025.

Moved ahead of Rita

Ada Compare
In 2004 they stood at #1158 and #1617 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2005 that had become #1406 and #951.
Stephanie Compare
In 2024 they stood at #504 and #631 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2025 that had become #718 and #294.
Audrey Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1176 and #1325 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2004 that had become #1158 and #736.
Violet Compare
In 2012 they stood at #612 and #768 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2013 that had become #894 and #491.

Moved the opposite way to Rita

Ada Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 while Ada went from #229 to #16.
Alma Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 while Alma went from #293 to #8.
Ella Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 while Ella went from #137 to #4.
Ellinor Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 while Ellinor went from #102 to #9.

Moved the same way as Rita

Anne Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 and Anne from #1 to #150.
Åse Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 and Åse from #25 to #128.
Bjørg Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 and Bjørg from #6 to #388.
Elin Compare
Between 1945 and 2024 in Norway · Girls, Rita went from #116 to #473 and Elin from #41 to #216.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #25 in Norway in 1963. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Rita

Rita at a glance

What stands out in Rita's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rita across 4 official records

Rita by decade in Norway · Girls

Rita appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Rita

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Rita

Rita and the names beside it

Rita moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rita

Moved the opposite way to Rita

Moved the same way as Rita

Rita at a glance

What stands out in Rita's record

Rita across 4 official records

Rita by decade in Norway · Girls

Rita appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Rita

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Rita

Rita and the names beside it

Rita moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rita

Moved the opposite way to Rita

Moved the same way as Rita