Damita
Feminine diminutive form of Dama derived from the Latin word "domina," meaning "lady."
Name Census estimates that about 1,279 living Americans carry the first name Damita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Damita today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Damita births was 1961 (117 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Damita. 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.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 267,986 Americans
Peak year
1961
117 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2010 SSA rank
#15,432
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Damita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Damita from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 689 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Damita 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 Damita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Damitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Ohio, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Damita, while Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Damita
The name Damita is a diminutive form of the Spanish name Dama, which means "lady" or "dame." It has its origins in the Latin word "domina," which also means "lady" or "mistress." The name Damita emerged in the Spanish language during the Middle Ages, likely around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest known references to the name Damita can be found in the writings of the Spanish poet and playwright Lope de Vega (1562-1635). In his plays and poems, he often used the name Damita as a term of endearment for a young woman of noble or gentle birth.
During the Spanish Golden Age, which spanned the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Damita gained popularity among the upper classes in Spain. It was often used as a nickname or pet name for young girls from aristocratic families.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Damita was Damita de Avila (1515-1589), a Spanish noblewoman and mystic who was a close friend and confidante of St. Teresa of Avila, the renowned Catholic saint and reformer.
In the 18th century, the name Damita made its way to the Americas, where it was adopted by Spanish settlers and their descendants. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the Americas was Damita Alvarez de Toledo (1716-1798), a wealthy landowner and philanthropist in colonial Mexico.
Another prominent figure with the name Damita was Damita Sánchez (1834-1901), a Cuban poet and activist who played a significant role in the fight for Cuban independence from Spain in the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, the name Damita experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Latin American countries. One notable bearer of the name was Damita Jo Browne (1928-2007), an American singer and actress who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
People
Damita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Damita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Damita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Damita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,279 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Damita 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 267,986 US residents.
Is Damita a common name?
We classify Damita as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,507 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Damita most popular?
The single biggest year for Damita was 1961, when 117 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Damita is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Damita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Damita 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.
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.