Reeta
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Reeta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Reeta today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reeta births was 1954 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reeta. 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 Reeta is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Reetas were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Reeta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
1954
12 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1960 SSA rank
#5,582
Tracked since 1899
Census
Reeta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 541 people with the first name Reeta, which placed it at #19,504 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
#19,504
National first-name rank
People counted
541
541 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
60.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reeta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reeta is Asian/Pacific Islander at 60.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.7%) and Black (3.0%). 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 Reeta 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 Reeta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander60.8% · 329
- White30.7% · 166
- Black or African American3.0% · 16
- Two or more races3.0% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Reeta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reeta from the 1890s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 44 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reeta 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 Reeta 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 Reeta
The name Reeta has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "rita," which means "truth" or "cosmic order." The name gained popularity during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Reeta is believed to have been mentioned in various ancient Hindu texts, including the Vedas and the Upanishads. These sacred scriptures often referenced the concept of "rita" as a fundamental principle governing the universe and the natural order of things.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Reeta can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, dating back to around 1500 BCE. In the Rigveda, the name is used to refer to a celestial goddess or personification of cosmic order.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Reeta. One such figure was Reeta Devi Sahni (1870-1953), an Indian social reformer and pioneer in women's education. She established several schools and colleges for girls in the early 20th century and played a significant role in promoting female literacy in India.
Another prominent Reeta was Reeta Faria (1908-1988), an Indian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her works that explored the lives and struggles of middle-class Indian women during the 20th century. Her novel "Miss Beatrice's Children" received critical acclaim and was adapted into a television series.
In the field of classical Indian music, Reeta Chakravarty (1914-2000) was a renowned Hindustani classical vocalist. She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honors in India, for her contributions to the world of music.
Another notable Reeta was Reeta Jayasankar (1936-1999), an Indian politician and social activist. She served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, and worked tirelessly for the empowerment of women and marginalized communities.
Lastly, Reeta Sinha (born 1948) is an Indian scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology. She has been recognized with several awards, including the Padma Shri, for her pioneering work in developing genetically modified crops and advancing agricultural research in India.
People
Reeta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reeta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reeta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reeta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reeta 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Reeta a common name?
We classify Reeta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 158 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reeta most popular?
The single biggest year for Reeta was 1954, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reeta is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reeta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 541 people with the name Reeta, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,504 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 Reeta 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 Reeta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reeta appears almost entirely female. Of the 546 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 Reeta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reeta is Asian/Pacific Islander at 60.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.7%) and Black (3.0%). 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 Reeta most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Reeta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (329 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 Reeta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reeta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reeta 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 Reeta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reeta 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 Reeta 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 have Reeta as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Reeta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.