Given name & surname
Anita
“a woman graced with God's favor”
Anita is a variant of Anna. One Latin interpretation is “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Original SpanishAna
Meaning & origin
What it means
Anita is a variant of Anna. One Latin interpretation is “a woman graced with God's favor.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.
How it developed
In English usage, Anita is a diminutive of Ana.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Anita through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 215,849
- 684 boys · 215,165 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 5,831 babies
- 2025
- 165
- #1,342 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 165 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,342 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 8.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,811 in 1957. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (28). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 164,324 as a first name in 2020; 197 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Anita’s family of names
In English usage, Anita is a diminutive of Ana. Anita has a related form in Anna. In Welsh usage, Anita has a related form in Anna.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Anita has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Spanishwhere Anita comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Anafull form · Spanish, Portuguese
- Annavariant · Welsh, Swedish
- Annvariant · Welsh
- Aniavariant · Welsh, Polish
- Anittavariant · Finnish, Portuguese
- Nitaclipped form · English
- Annitavariant · Norwegian
- 梅姐nickname
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Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Annieequivalent · English
- HanaCzech
- Anitraequivalent
- Agnitaequivalent
- Initaequivalent
- Anetaequivalent
- Enitaequivalent
- Anitëborrowing · Albanian
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See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Anita
- Anita DesaiIndian novelist, University professor (born 1937)
- Anita WłodarczykPolish hammer throwerborn 1985
- Anita BrooknerEnglish novelist and art historian (1928–2016)
- Anita BorgAmerican computer scientist (1949-2003)
- Anita LoosAmerican actress and writer (1888–1981)
- Anita BakerAmerican singerborn 1958
- Anita MuiHong Kong singer and actress (1963–2003)
- Anita RoddickBritish business woman, founder of The Body Shop (1942-2007)
- Anita BryantAmerican singer and activist (1940–2024)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Anita, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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