Jovita
A feminine Spanish name related to Jupiter, the bringer of joy.
Name Census estimates that about 1,869 living Americans carry the first name Jovita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jovita today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jovita births was 1930 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jovita. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 183,389 Americans
Peak year
1930
62 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1941 SSA rank
#3,771
Tracked since 1903
Gender
Gender distribution for Jovita
Out of the 3,289 babies given the name Jovita since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Jovita as a male name
- Ranked #3,771 in 1941
- 5 male births in 1941
- Peak: 1941 (5 births)
Jovita as a female name
- Ranked #11,548 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1930 (62 births)
Popularity
Jovita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jovita from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 442 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jovita 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 Jovita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jovitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jovita, while Georgia, Arizona, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 303 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jovita
The name Jovita is a feminine given name with origins in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. It is a variant of the Latin name Jovita, which was derived from the Roman name Jovius, meaning "of Jupiter" or "relating to Jupiter." Jupiter was the supreme deity in ancient Roman mythology, considered the god of sky and thunder.
The name Jovita has been in use since ancient times, particularly in regions with strong Roman cultural influence, such as the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Italy. It gained popularity during the spread of Christianity, as it was adopted by several early Christian martyrs and saints.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jovita can be found in the 4th century, when it was borne by Saint Jovita, a Christian martyr who was killed during the Diocletian persecution in Brescia, Italy. Another early figure named Jovita was Saint Jovita of Palermo, who lived in the 5th century and is revered as the patron saint of Palermo, Sicily.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the name Jovita maintained a presence in various regions of Europe, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. Notable figures with this name include Jovita Díaz Muñoz (1917-2020), a Spanish teacher and writer who lived to be one of the oldest people in Spain.
In the 19th century, the name gained prominence in Latin American countries, particularly in Mexico and Central America. One prominent bearer was Jovita Idar (1885-1946), a Mexican-American journalist and civil rights activist who played a significant role in the Mexican-American community in Texas.
Another notable figure was Jovita Carranza (1949-2021), an American businesswoman and government official who served as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration under President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021.
Other historical figures with the name Jovita include Jovita Fuentes (1920-1998), a Mexican-American author and educator known for her contributions to Chicano literature, and Jovita Idár (1885-1946), a Mexican-American journalist and activist who fought for civil rights and women's rights in Texas.
People
Jovita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jovita 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
Jovita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jovita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,869 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jovita 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 183,389 US residents.
Is Jovita a common name?
We classify Jovita as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,289 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jovita most popular?
The single biggest year for Jovita was 1930, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jovita is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jovita a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Jovita 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.