Elrita
A feminine name blending Elvira and Rita, of unknown origin.
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Elrita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Elrita today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elrita births was 1921 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elrita. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Elrita is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elritas were born before 1957.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elrita. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1921
7 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1959 SSA rank
#6,530
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Elrita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elrita from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Elrita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Elrita 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 Elrita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Elrita
The name Elrita is thought to have its origins in the Germanic languages, particularly in the Old High German dialect spoken in the region that is now southern Germany and parts of Switzerland. The name is believed to have emerged sometime around the 8th or 9th century AD, during the Carolingian Renaissance period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Elrita can be found in the Codex Sangallensis, a 9th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Saint Gall in modern-day Switzerland. In this document, Elrita is mentioned as the name of a noblewoman who donated land to the abbey.
The name Elrita is derived from the Germanic root words "ald" or "alt," meaning "old" or "ancient," and "rīt," which translates to "counsel" or "advice." Thus, the name Elrita can be interpreted to mean something along the lines of "ancient wisdom" or "wise counsel."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Elrita. One of the earliest recorded was Elrita of Maulbronn (c. 1120 – c. 1190), a German nun and mystic who is venerated as a Blessed in the Catholic Church. Another prominent figure was Elrita von Teck (c. 1260 – c. 1325), a German noblewoman and the wife of Count Eberhard II of Württemberg.
In the 14th century, there was Elrita von Freiberg (c. 1310 – c. 1380), a German composer and poet who is credited with writing some of the earliest known secular songs in the German language. A few centuries later, Elrita von Hessen-Darmstadt (1635 – 1709) was a German princess and abbess of the Imperial Abbey of Quedlinburg.
More recently, in the 19th century, there was Elrita Amalia von Reutern (1801 – 1879), a Swedish writer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education. She was one of the first female authors in Sweden to publish under her own name.
While the name Elrita has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has been used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, albeit with some variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, its underlying meaning of "ancient wisdom" or "wise counsel" has remained consistent throughout its historical usage.
People
Elrita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elrita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elrita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elrita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elrita 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Elrita a common name?
We classify Elrita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elrita most popular?
The single biggest year for Elrita was 1921, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elrita is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Elrita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elrita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elrita 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 Elrita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elrita 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 Elrita 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Elrita?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Elrita at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.