Felita
A feminine variant of the Latin name Felicia, meaning "lucky" or "happy".
Name Census estimates that about 659 living Americans carry the first name Felita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Felita today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Felita births was 1968 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Felita. 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
659
~ 1 in 520,113 Americans
Peak year
1968
53 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1993 SSA rank
#14,216
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Felita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Felita from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 388 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
Felita 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 Felita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Felitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Felita, while North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Felita
The name Felita is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "felicitas," meaning "happiness" or "good fortune." It first emerged during the Middle Ages in regions of Spain and Portugal, where it was given to girls as a expression of hope for a joyful and prosperous life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Felita can be found in the 12th century, in a Spanish manuscript detailing the lives of various saints and religious figures. Here, the name is mentioned in reference to a young woman named Felita, who was renowned for her acts of charity and compassion towards the poor.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further popularity across the Iberian Peninsula and was occasionally bestowed upon women from noble families. One notable figure bearing this name was Felita de Vilhena, a Portuguese noblewoman who lived in the 16th century and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for various cultural initiatives.
As Spanish and Portuguese explorers and settlers ventured to the Americas, the name Felita was carried with them to the New World, where it was adopted by families of Spanish and Portuguese descent. One such individual was Felita Alonso, a Spanish-born woman who traveled to Mexico in the early 17th century and later became a prominent figure in the development of the city of Puebla.
In the 19th century, the name Felita was also found in literary works, including the novel "La Gitanilla" by Miguel de Cervantes, where it is given to a character described as a beautiful and spirited young gypsy woman.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Felita, including:
1. Felita de la Vega (1905-1994), a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
2. Felita Muniz (1915-2020), a Cuban-American centenarian and one of the longest-lived people in the United States, passing away at the age of 105.
3. Felita Sampedro (1925-2013), a Spanish novelist and screenwriter known for her works exploring themes of love, passion, and social issues.
4. Felita Alfaro (1940-2022), a renowned Venezuelan artist and sculptor whose works were exhibited in galleries across Latin America and Europe.
5. Felita Arellano (1952-present), a Mexican-American entrepreneur and businesswoman, recognized for her successful chain of restaurants and her contributions to the culinary industry.
People
Felita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Felita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Felita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Felita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 659 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Felita 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 520,113 US residents.
Is Felita a common name?
We classify Felita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 783 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Felita most popular?
The single biggest year for Felita was 1968, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Felita is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Felita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Felita 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.