Ritamae
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Ritamae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ritamae today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ritamae births was 1923 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ritamae. 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 Ritamae is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ritamaes were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ritamae. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1923
8 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1949 SSA rank
#5,885
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Ritamae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ritamae from the 1920s through to the 1940s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 27 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ritamae 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 Ritamae 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 Ritamae
The given name Ritamae is a compound name derived from the Latin word "rita" meaning "pearl" and the English word "mae" meaning "pearl" or "bitter." The name's origins can be traced back to the late 19th century when it was first recorded in the United States.
Ritamae was a relatively uncommon name in the early 20th century, but it gained some popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ritamae Chisholm (1900-1988), an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several Broadway productions during the 1920s and 1930s.
Another notable Ritamae from this era was Ritamae Trevelyan (1905-1992), a British artist and sculptor known for her abstract works in metal and stone. She was a member of the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts and had several solo exhibitions in London and Paris throughout her career.
In the mid-20th century, the name Ritamae was occasionally given to children, particularly in the United States. One such individual was Ritamae Marvin (1937-2018), an American author and historian who wrote extensively about the history of New England and the American Revolution.
Moving into the latter part of the 20th century, Ritamae Slocum (1948-2021) was an influential Native American activist and educator who worked tirelessly to preserve and promote the culture and traditions of the Hopi tribe in Arizona.
While not a particularly common name, Ritamae has been used throughout history in various parts of the world. One notable example is Ritamae Kawakibi (1962-), a Lebanese-born artist and sculptor based in Paris, known for her large-scale public art installations exploring themes of identity and cultural diversity.
Despite its rarity, the name Ritamae has endured through the centuries, reflecting a blend of different cultural influences and a unique combination of meanings related to pearls and bitterness.
People
Ritamae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ritamae 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
Ritamae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ritamae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ritamae 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Ritamae a common name?
We classify Ritamae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 47 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ritamae most popular?
The single biggest year for Ritamae was 1923, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ritamae is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ritamae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ritamae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ritamae 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 Ritamae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ritamae 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 Ritamae 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Ritamae?
Find out how many people share the name Ritamae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.