Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Rita?
Births per year, rank history and how many Ritas are alive today.
Rita (female) is a shortened form of the name Margaret. Although Rita itself was given to 51 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 719th as a registered name), most Ritas are registered as Margaret, which ranked 413th in 2025 with 98 babies.
Most people called Rita are registered as Margaret, and share that name's profile: the Margaret you are most likely to meet is around 81 years old. Half of all Margarets born in England and Wales are between 72 and 87, and there are at least 320,000 of them alive today. Only some Margarets go by Rita.
How many babies are named Rita or Margaret each year?
Combined registrations of Margaret, Rita. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Margaret rank as a registered name?
Where does Rita rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Rita short for Margaret?
Yes - Rita is a shortened form of Margaret. Ritas are usually registered as Margaret at birth.
When was the name Rita most popular?
The full name Margaret peaked in 1924, when around 23,900 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Rita itself peaked as a registered name in 1934, with 1,616 babies.
How many people are called Rita?
There's no official count of people who go by Rita, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 320,000 people registered as Margaret born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Rita.
How old is the typical Rita?
Most people called Rita are registered as Margaret. Most living Margarets are between 72 and 87; the most common age is about 81.
Is Rita becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1924 peak.