Gita
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "song" or "poem".
Name Census estimates that about 451 living Americans carry the first name Gita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gita today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gita births was 1970 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gita. 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
451
~ 1 in 759,987 Americans
Peak year
1970
23 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,407
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Gita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gita from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 106 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Gita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gita 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 Gita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Gita, while New Jersey, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gita
The name Gita is derived from the Sanskrit language and has its origins in ancient India. It is a diminutive form of the name Gita, which means "song" or "verse" in Sanskrit. The name is closely associated with the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture that forms part of the epic Mahabharata.
The Bhagavad Gita is a revered text in Hinduism and is believed to have been composed between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE. The name Gita is mentioned numerous times throughout the scripture, referring to the divine song or discourse imparted by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gita can be found in the Mahabharata itself. Gita was the name of a character who was the wife of King Drupad and the mother of the Pandava princes. This historical reference dates back to the ancient epic, which is estimated to have been composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Gita. Gita Mehta, born in 1943, is an Indian writer and author of acclaimed works such as "Karma Cola" and "A River Sutra." Gita Wirjawan, born in 1963, is an Indonesian businessman and former trade minister.
Gita Sahgal, born in 1956, is a human rights activist and writer who has worked for organizations like Amnesty International. Gita Krishnankutty, born in 1982, is an Indian film actress and dancer known for her work in Malayalam cinema. Gita Gopinath, born in 1971, is an Indian-American economist who serves as the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, have carried the name Gita, which holds a deep connection to the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of India. The name's association with the Bhagavad Gita and its meaning of "song" or "verse" imbue it with a sense of divine wisdom and poetic expression.
People
Gita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 451 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gita 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 759,987 US residents.
Is Gita a common name?
We classify Gita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 501 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gita most popular?
The single biggest year for Gita was 1970, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gita is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gita 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.