How popular is the baby name Rita in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Rita.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Rita


Posts that Mention the Name Rita

Popular baby names in Croatia, 2021

Croatia

Last year, the country of Croatia welcomed nearly 37,000 babies — close to 18,000 girls and more than 19,000 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Mia and Luka, yet again.

Here are Croatia’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Mia, 539 baby girls
  2. Lucija, 407
  3. Nika, 405
  4. Rita, 391
  5. Ema, 389
  6. Mila, 347
  7. Marta, 341
  8. Sara, 307
  9. Ana, 278
  10. Dora, 266
  11. Eva, 263
  12. Elena, 250
  13. Lana, 243
  14. Petra, 241
  15. Iva, 239
  16. Klara, 216 (tie)
  17. Lara, 216 (tie)
  18. Marija, 210
  19. Lea, 205
  20. Hana, 198
  21. Ena, 193 – based on Irena
  22. Franka, 183
  23. Tena, 178 – based on Terezija (Theresa)
  24. Leona, 177
  25. Laura, 174
  26. Emili, 165
  27. Maša, 146 – a form of Masha, which is based on Mariya (Maria)
  28. Una, 144 (tie)
  29. Vita, 144 (tie)
  30. Lena, 141 (tie)
  31. Nikol, 141 (tie)
  32. Magdalena, 138
  33. Sofia, 135
  34. Karla, 133
  35. Tara, 131
  36. Tia, 130
  37. Katja, 128
  38. Lota, 114 – based on Carlotta
  39. Tea, 107
  40. Nora, 104
  41. Maris, 103
  42. Bruna, 100
  43. Aria, 97
  44. Luna, 95
  45. Helena, 89 (tie)
  46. Sofija, 89 (tie)
  47. Mara, 88
  48. Lorena, 87
  49. Iris, 86 (tie)
  50. Roza, 86 (tie)

Boy Names

  1. Luka, 867 baby boys
  2. David, 563
  3. Jakov, 519
  4. Ivan, 454
  5. Roko, 404
  6. Petar, 403
  7. Mateo, 390 (tie)
  8. Niko, 390 (tie)
  9. Matej, 387
  10. Fran, 346
  11. Josip, 344
  12. Noa, 337
  13. Mihael, 333
  14. Borna, 328 – based on the proto-Slavic word borti, meaning “battle, fight”
  15. Toma, 303
  16. Filip, 301
  17. Leon, 294
  18. Karlo, 286 (tie)
  19. Marko, 286 (tie)
  20. Lovro, 281
  21. Jan, 267
  22. Ivano, 260
  23. Vito, 250
  24. Šimun, 249
  25. Teo, 246
  26. Lukas, 242
  27. Ante, 210 (tie) – a form of Anthony
  28. Nikola, 210 (tie)
  29. Gabriel, 208
  30. Leo, 186
  31. Viktor, 184
  32. Bruno, 178
  33. Marin, 162
  34. Tin, 160
  35. Dominik, 153
  36. Oliver, 152
  37. Adrian, 150
  38. Patrik, 145
  39. Noel, 143
  40. Toni, 138
  41. Rafael, 119
  42. Liam, 117
  43. Andrej, 114
  44. Erik, 112
  45. Antonio, 111 (tie)
  46. Franko, 111 (tie)
  47. Emanuel, 106
  48. Lovre, 102
  49. Maro, 100
  50. Vid, 94 – a form of Wido or Vitus

In the girls’ top 10, Dora replaced Petra.

In the boys’ top 10, Niko and Fran replaced Noa and Filip.

Finally, here’s a link to Croatia’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources: Statisticki prikaz – Republika Hrvatska, Most popular baby names in Croatia in 2021 revealed, Behind the Name

Image by 5075933 from Pixabay

Popular baby names in Croatia, 2020

Croatia

According to Croatia’s Ministry of Justice and Administration, the most popular baby names in the country last year were (again) Mia and Luka.

Here are Croatia’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Mia (531 baby girls)
  2. Lucija
  3. Sara
  4. Ema
  5. Nika
  6. Marta
  7. Rita
  8. Mila
  9. Petra
  10. Ana

Boy Names

  1. Luka (870 baby boys)
  2. David
  3. Jakov
  4. Ivan
  5. Petar
  6. Roko (the Croatian form of Rocco)
  7. Matej
  8. Noa
  9. Filip
  10. Mateo

In the girls’ top 10, Mila replaced Iva.

In the boys’ top 10, Noa and Filip replaced Karlo and Borna.

Finally, here are some insights about Croatian baby-naming trends from sociologist Ivan Balabanic:

Today, parents give their children names that are more pleasing to the ear and in accordance with their own taste, because new generations have moved away from the traditional obligation to give names of other family members to children […] Today’s names are also a reflection of greater freedoms, individualism and personalism because parents are no longer so attached to tradition and extended families.

He noted that modern Croatian parents are moving away from names that were popular during the Yugoslavian era (1945-1991) — names like Milan, Dražen, Mladen, Zdravko — and also away from the names of historical Croatian princes, such as Krešimir, Trpimir, Branimir and Domagoj.

Sources: Most popular baby names in Croatia last year revealed, What baby names are Croatians choosing now? A move from tradition

Image by 5075933 from Pixabay

Baby name story: Justice

Bob Marley album
Bob Marley album

Reggae legend Bob Marley (born Robert Nesta Marley) died in mid-1981 of cancer.

Marley didn’t leave a will, so what followed was a ten-year battle over his estate, which was worth tens of millions of dollars. The estate’s court-appointed administrator was apparently “a conservative lawyer who had not liked Marley when he was alive and who […] seemed bent on taking as much as possible from those who had been closest to the deceased.”

On December 9, 1991, the Jamaican Supreme Court ruled in favor of Marley’s widow Alpharita Constantia “Rita” Marley, his 11* recognized children, and his record company.

As luck would have it, the very same day, Marley’s adult son Ziggy (born David Nesta Marley) welcomed a baby girl. Her name? Justice, “in honor of the court decision.”

*Only three of the children — Cedella, Ziggy, and Stephen — were both Bob’s and Rita’s biologically.

Sources:

Where did the baby name Saadia come from in 1954?

The character Saadia (played by Rita Gam) in the movie "Saadia" (1953).
Saadia (Rita Gam) from “Saadia“

The exotic-looking name Saadia first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1954:

  • 1956: 10 baby girls named Saadia
  • 1955: 17 baby girls named Saadia
  • 1954: 19 baby girls named Saadia [debut]
  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: unlisted

The source?

The movie Saadia, released at the end of 1953. (It was based on the 1950 book Échec au destin by Francis D’Autheville.)

The film was set in the Moroccan desert, and the primary female character was a young woman named Saadia (pronounced sah-dee-ah), played by actress Rita Gam.

Though the character was female, the earliest known real-life Saadia was male: Sa’adia ben Joseph, 10th-century Jewish philosopher and rabbi.

The name “Saadia,” which, so far as is known, he was the first to bear, is apparently an artificial Hebrew equivalent of his Arabic name, “Sa’id.”

The name Sa’id means “happy” or “lucky” in Arabic.

But, getting back to the 1950s…a comedic movie called 3 Ring Circus — filmed while Saadia was playing in theaters, and released at the end of 1954 — also included a character named Saadia (this time played by Zsa Zsa Gabor). This second film may have influenced expectant parents as well.

What do you think of the name Saadia?

Sources: