How popular is the baby name Rheeta in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Rheeta.

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Popularity of the baby name Rheeta


Posts that mention the name Rheeta

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • (none yet)

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

Where did the baby name Rheeta come from in 1935?

The character Rheeta in a 1935 panel of the comic strip "Mandrake the Magician" (1934-2013).
Rheeta from Mandrake the Magician

In the middle of the 1930s — while the name Rita was on the downswing, notably — the name Rheeta appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the first and only time.

  • 1937: unlisted
  • 1936: unlisted
  • 1935: 9 baby girls named Rheeta [debut]
  • 1934: unlisted
  • 1933: unlisted

What put it there?

A character from the newspaper comic strip Mandrake the Magician, which was first published in June of 1934 and lasted all the way until 2013.

The character Rheeta was part of a 17-week storyline called “The Hidden Kingdom of Murderers” that ran on Sundays during the first half of 1935 (from February to May).

In this particular story, Mandrake used his magic to track down a group of murderers plotting to take over the world. Rheeta was Mandrake’s panther…until Mandrake turned her into a young woman. She changed forms several times throughout the story.

Do you like the name Rheeta? What’s your preferred spelling?

Sources: Mandrake the Magician – Wikipedia, Ask the Archivist: First Mandrake Sunday Story, The Hidden Kingdom of Murderers – MandrakeWiki