Anita
A Spanish diminutive of Ana, which descends through Latin and Greek from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning grace or favor.
Anita in 2025
Anita was given to 165 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,521st most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 20,093 babies born.
The history of Anita
Anita reached its highest point in 1957, when 5,831 babies were given the name, ranking 153rd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 148th, in 1963.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 215,849 babies have been named Anita. Half of them were born before 1955, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Anita by decade
| Decade | Babies named Anita | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 365 | 474 |
| 1890s | 1,191 | 305 |
| 1900s | 2,149 | 297 |
| 1910s | 9,563 | 238 |
| 1920s | 18,114 | 222 |
| 1930s | 22,335 | 168 |
| 1940s | 32,646 | 168 |
| 1950s | 47,698 | 153 |
| 1960s | 44,556 | 148 |
| 1970s | 18,915 | 243 |
| 1980s | 8,645 | 441 |
| 1990s | 4,577 | 766 |
| 2000s | 2,471 | 1,333 |
| 2010s | 1,695 | 2,269 |
| 2020s | 929 | 2,521 |
Where Anita is heading
Anita has risen 11% over the past decade, from 148 babies in 2015 to 165 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1957 peak — Anita is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Anita
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Anita.