Jarita
A feminine name of Indigenous North American Muskogee origin meaning "flower".
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the first name Jarita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jarita today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jarita births was 1970 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jarita. 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
183
~ 1 in 1,872,975 Americans
Peak year
1970
14 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1998 SSA rank
#13,097
Tracked since 1953
Census
Jarita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 240 people with the first name Jarita, which placed it at #34,133 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
#34,133
National first-name rank
People counted
240
240 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jarita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jarita is Black at 57.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.4%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Jarita 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 Jarita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.5% · 138
- White25.4% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 14
- Two or more races4.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Jarita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jarita from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 78 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jarita 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 Jarita 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 Jarita
The name Jarita is of Spanish origin and is believed to have emerged during the late Middle Ages or the Renaissance period in Spain. Its roots can be traced back to the Spanish word "jara," which means "rockrose" or a type of flowering shrub native to the Mediterranean region.
In its earliest form, the name was likely derived from the Latin word "iara," which also referred to the rockrose plant. Over time, the name evolved into the Spanish version, Jarita, and gained popularity among Spanish-speaking communities.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Jarita can be found in a 16th-century Spanish literary work, where it was used as a character name. This suggests that the name was already in use during that time period, although its exact origins remain somewhat obscure.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jarita. One of the earliest known figures was Jarita de Soto (1530-1588), a Spanish noblewoman known for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts during the Spanish Renaissance.
In the 18th century, Jarita Fernández (1712-1794) was a renowned Spanish painter known for her portraits and religious works. Her artworks can still be found in various museums and churches throughout Spain.
Moving into the 19th century, Jarita Pérez (1845-1912) was a Cuban author and poet who contributed significantly to the literary landscape of her time. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the early 20th century, Jarita Hernández (1901-1978) was a Mexican actress and dancer who gained fame for her performances in traditional Mexican folkloric dances. She was instrumental in preserving and promoting Mexican cultural traditions through her art.
Another notable figure was Jarita Rodríguez (1922-2005), a Venezuelan political activist and advocate for women's rights. She played a crucial role in the fight for gender equality and social justice in her country.
While the name Jarita may not be as common today as it once was, its historical significance and cultural roots in the Spanish-speaking world remain a testament to its enduring legacy.
People
Jarita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jarita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jarita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jarita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jarita 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 1,872,975 US residents.
Is Jarita a common name?
We classify Jarita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 206 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jarita most popular?
The single biggest year for Jarita was 1970, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jarita is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jarita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 240 people with the name Jarita, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,133 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 Jarita 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 Jarita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jarita appears almost entirely female. Of the 235 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Jarita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jarita is Black at 57.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.4%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Jarita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jarita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.5% (138 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 Jarita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jarita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jarita 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 Jarita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jarita 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 Jarita 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 Americans are named Jarita?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Jarita at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.