How Many People Are Named Anita?
An estimated 123,726 people in the United States have the first name Anita. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #441 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 62 years old, and Anita peaked in popularity in 1957 with 5,831 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Anita as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Anita paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Anita is overwhelmingly female, 684 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Anita has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
123,726
About 1 in 2,770 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1957
5,831 births
Total Registered
215,683
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Anita
Anita is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 215,683 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Anita as a male name
Ranked #7,222 in 1990
6 male births in 1990
Peak: 1961 (21 births)
Anita as a female name
Ranked #1,463 in 2024
149 female births in 2024
Peak: 1957 (5,811 births)
Anita: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Anita span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 47,701 babies were registered. Anita has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Anita by Decade
How has Anita tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 365 | 0 | 365 | |
| 1890s | 1,191 | 0 | 1,191 | |
| 1900s | 2,149 | 0 | 2,149 | |
| 1910s | 9,563 | 8 | 9,555 | |
| 1920s | 18,114 | 62 | 18,052 | |
| 1930s | 22,335 | 111 | 22,224 | |
| 1940s | 32,645 | 115 | 32,530 | |
| 1950s | 47,701 | 110 | 47,591 | |
| 1960s | 44,555 | 140 | 44,415 | |
| 1970s | 18,915 | 81 | 18,834 | |
| 1980s | 8,646 | 51 | 8,595 | |
| 1990s | 4,577 | 6 | 4,571 | |
| 2000s | 2,471 | 0 | 2,471 | |
| 2010s | 1,695 | 0 | 1,695 | |
| 2020s | 761 | 0 | 761 | |
Anita by State
Birth registrations for Anita span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Delaware. On average, about 4,080 Anitas were registered per state.
Anita + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Anita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Anita
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
Anita: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anita?
We estimate approximately 123,726 people named Anita are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,770 Americans share this first name.
Is Anita a common name?
Anita is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 215,683 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Anita most popular?
Anita reached peak popularity in 1957, when 5,831 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Anita is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Anita a female name?
Anita is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Anita Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Anita Smith, Anita Johnson, Anita Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me