Chiquita
Small or little one, a Spanish diminutive term of endearment.
Name Census estimates that about 5,483 living Americans carry the first name Chiquita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chiquita today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chiquita births was 1985 (373 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chiquita. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Chiquita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.5K
~ 1 in 62,512 Americans
Peak year
1985
373 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1989 SSA rank
#7,101
Tracked since 1917
Census
Chiquita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,750 people with the first name Chiquita, which placed it at #4,075 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,075
National first-name rank
People counted
4.8K
4,750 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chiquita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chiquita is Black at 89.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chiquita described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chiquita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.0% · 4,227
- White5.3% · 253
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 111
- Two or more races2.2% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 26
Gender
Gender distribution for Chiquita
Out of the 6,224 babies given the name Chiquita since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Chiquita as a male name
- Ranked #7,101 in 1989
- 6 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (6 births)
Chiquita as a female name
- Ranked #14,871 in 2005
- 6 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1985 (373 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chiquita appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,744 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Chiquita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chiquita from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 2,240 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chiquita by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chiquita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chiquitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Georgia, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Chiquita, while Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 179 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chiquita
Chiquita is a feminine given name derived from the Spanish language. Its origins can be traced back to the diminutive form of the word "chica," meaning "small" or "little" in English. The name likely gained popularity in Spanish-speaking regions, particularly in Spain and Latin America, where diminutive names were commonly used as terms of endearment.
One of the earliest known references to the name Chiquita can be found in the literature of the Spanish Golden Age, a period spanning the 16th and 17th centuries. Writers during this time often employed diminutive names to convey affection or familiarity with their characters. However, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the name or its earliest recorded use.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Chiquita. One such figure was Chiquita Gonzaga (1468-1520), an Italian noblewoman and member of the influential Gonzaga family. She served as the Regent of Mantua and played a crucial role in the cultural and political affairs of the region during the Renaissance period.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Chiquita Bach (1708-1784), the second wife of the renowned German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. She was a talented singer and musician in her own right and contributed significantly to the preservation and dissemination of her husband's musical works after his death.
In the realm of literature, Chiquita Gallardo (1923-2008) was a celebrated Mexican writer and poet. She gained recognition for her poetic works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her poetry collections, such as "Canción de la Barca" and "Huellas de Sombra," earned her numerous accolades and a place in the literary canon of Mexico.
The name Chiquita also found its way into the world of art. Chiquita Ripley (1931-2021) was an American artist known for her vibrant abstract expressionist paintings. Her works have been exhibited in numerous prestigious galleries and museums, and she was recognized as a pioneering figure in the American art scene of the mid-20th century.
Lastly, Chiquita Gonzalez (1940-2007) was a renowned Mexican-American singer and actress. She achieved fame in the 1960s and '70s for her performances in various Hollywood films and television shows, showcasing her talent as a versatile entertainer and contributing to the representation of Mexican-American culture in mainstream media.
These are just a few examples of the diverse individuals who have carried the name Chiquita throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage.
People
Chiquita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chiquita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chiquita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chiquita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,483 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chiquita going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 62,512 US residents.
Is Chiquita a common name?
We classify Chiquita as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,224 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chiquita most popular?
The single biggest year for Chiquita was 1985, when 373 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chiquita is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chiquita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,750 people with the name Chiquita, or 1.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,075 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chiquita in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chiquita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chiquita appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,744 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chiquita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chiquita is Black at 89.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Hispanic (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chiquita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Chiquita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (4,227 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chiquita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chiquita a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Chiquita in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chiquita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chiquita in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chiquita can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Chiquita?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.