Norita
A feminine Japanese name combining "nori" meaning law and "ta" representing virtue.
Name Census estimates that about 338 living Americans carry the first name Norita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Norita today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Norita births was 1937 (155 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Norita. 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 Norita is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Noritas were born before 1963.
People living today
338
~ 1 in 1,014,066 Americans
Peak year
1937
155 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1993 SSA rank
#15,089
Tracked since 1918
Census
Norita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 650 people with the first name Norita, which placed it at #17,115 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
#17,115
National first-name rank
People counted
650
650 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norita is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.7%). 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 Norita 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 Norita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.6% · 420
- Black or African American15.4% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.7% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 35
- Two or more races2.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Norita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Norita from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 357 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Norita 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 Norita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Noritas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Norita, while West Virginia, Oregon, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Norita
Norita is a feminine given name with Japanese origins. Its roots can be traced back to the Japanese words "nori," meaning "principle" or "law," and "ta," a possessive particle indicating ownership or association. Together, these components suggest a meaning of "one who adheres to principles" or "one governed by law."
The earliest known instances of the name Norita date back to the Kamakura period in Japan, which spanned from 1185 to 1333 CE. During this era, the name was likely bestowed upon individuals who were respected for their adherence to societal norms, ethical values, or legal codes.
Historical records from the Muromachi period (1336–1573 CE) mention a revered Buddhist monk named Norita Shingen, who played a significant role in the propagation of Zen Buddhism throughout Japan. His teachings and writings had a profound impact on the spiritual and philosophical landscape of the time.
In the Edo period (1603–1868 CE), the name Norita gained prominence among the samurai class, as it embodied the ideals of honor, discipline, and adherence to the warrior code. One notable figure from this era was Norita Masahiro, a skilled swordsman and martial arts instructor who taught the art of kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship) to members of the shogunate's elite guard.
During the Meiji era (1868–1912 CE), a prominent Japanese scholar and educator named Norita Kaoru made significant contributions to the modernization of Japan's education system. Her progressive ideas and advocacy for women's education had a lasting impact on the societal fabric of the time.
Another remarkable figure in Japanese history was Norita Hiroko, a pioneering feminist and social activist born in 1907. She dedicated her life to advocating for women's rights, gender equality, and the abolition of discriminatory practices against women in Japanese society.
Throughout its history, the name Norita has been associated with individuals who exemplified values such as integrity, discipline, and a commitment to upholding principles. While its usage may have evolved over time, the name continues to carry a sense of cultural significance and respect within Japanese communities.
People
Norita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Norita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Norita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Norita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Norita 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 1,014,066 US residents.
Is Norita a common name?
We classify Norita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 799 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Norita most popular?
The single biggest year for Norita was 1937, when 155 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Norita is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Norita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 650 people with the name Norita, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,115 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 Norita 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 Norita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norita appears almost entirely female. Of the 645 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Norita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norita is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.7%). 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 Norita most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Norita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (420 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 Norita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Norita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Norita 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 Norita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Norita 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 Norita 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 people share the name Norita?
Find out how many people share the name Norita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.