Ritika
A feminine Hindu name of Sanskrit origin meaning "ritual" or "ceremony".
Name Census estimates that about 562 living Americans carry the first name Ritika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ritika today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ritika births was 2001 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ritika. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ritika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
562
~ 1 in 609,883 Americans
Peak year
2001
48 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,873
Tracked since 1983
Census
Ritika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,284 people with the first name Ritika, which placed it at #10,411 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
#10,411
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,284 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ritika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ritika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Ritika 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 Ritika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.1% · 1,221
- White2.7% · 35
- Two or more races0.9% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Ritika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ritika from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 320 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ritika 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 Ritika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ritikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Ritika, while Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ritika
The name Ritika originates from the Sanskrit language and cultural traditions of ancient India. Derived from the Sanskrit word "Ritu," meaning season or time, it is a feminine name often associated with beauty, harmony, and the cyclical nature of time.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to the concept of "Ritu" as the personification of the seasons, which were celebrated and revered for their role in sustaining life. The name Ritika may have been given to children to honor this connection with the natural world and the rhythms of the universe.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Ritika can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions from the Indian subcontinent, dating back to the 1st millennium BCE. While it was not a widely popular name during ancient times, it was often used among scholarly and priestly communities familiar with the Sanskrit language.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ritika. One of the earliest recorded figures was Ritika Devi, a 12th-century Sanskrit scholar and poet from the Chaulukya dynasty in present-day Gujarat, India. Her literary works, primarily focused on religious and philosophical themes, were highly acclaimed during her lifetime.
In the 16th century, Ritika Sundari was a celebrated Indian courtesan and poet from the Mughal Empire. Her poetry, which often explored themes of love and longing, was widely appreciated and has been preserved in various anthologies.
During the 20th century, Ritika Khanna (1954-2008) was a prominent Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the art of Kathak, a classical dance form originating in northern India. Khanna's contributions to the world of dance were recognized with numerous awards and honors.
Another noteworthy figure was Ritika Sahni (1922-2002), an Indian writer and activist who played a significant role in the women's rights movement in India. Her writings, which often focused on social and gender issues, were instrumental in raising awareness about women's empowerment and equality.
Lastly, Ritika Samaddar (born 1989) is a contemporary Indian actress and model who has appeared in several Bollywood films and television shows. Her performances have garnered critical acclaim, and she is considered one of the rising stars in the Indian entertainment industry.
People
Ritika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ritika 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
Ritika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ritika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 562 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ritika 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 609,883 US residents.
Is Ritika a common name?
We classify Ritika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 571 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ritika most popular?
The single biggest year for Ritika was 2001, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ritika is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ritika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,284 people with the name Ritika, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,411 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 Ritika 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 Ritika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ritika appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,292 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Ritika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ritika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Ritika most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ritika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (1,221 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 Ritika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ritika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ritika 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 Ritika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ritika 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 Ritika 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 common is the name Ritika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.