Rita

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Rita f

1. A taxonomic genus within the family Bagridae – certain naked catfishes of south Asia.

• (genus): Eukaryota – superkingdom; Animalia – kingdom; Bilateria – subkingdom; Deuterostomia – infrakingdom; Chordata – phylum; Vertebrata – subphylum; Gnathostomata – infraphylum; Osteichthyes – superclass; Actinopterygii – superclass; Actinopteri – class; Neopterygii – subclass; Teleostei – infraclass; Siluriformes – order; Bagroidea – superfamily; Bagridae – family

• (genus): Rita rita - type species

• Rita (fish) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Rita on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:Rita on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

• Reeta

• Rhymes: -iːtə

From Romance (Italian Rita, Spanish Rita). A shortening of Italian Margherita, and Spanish Margarita, cognates of English Margaret. An Italian Saint Rita was canonized in 1900. The English name came into regular use in early twentieth century.

• Reta, Reeta

Rita (plural Ritas)

1. A female given name from the Romance languages, Italian, or Spanish.

   Coordinate terms: Margarita, Margaret, Margot, Margo

   • 1993, Diane Telgen, Jim Kamp, editors, Notable Hispanic American Women, VNR AG, →ISBN, page 194:

     Born Margarita Carmen Cansino to Eduardo and Volga Haworth Cansino on October 17, 1918, in New York City, Rita Hayworth was no stranger to show business.

From South Asian languages, from Sanskrit रीता (rītā).

• Reetha, Retha, Ritha, Reeta, Reta

Rita (plural Ritas)

1. A female given name from Sanskrit.

• Atri, ITAR, Rati, airt, tiar

From Italian Rita.

Rita

1. a female given name

From Italian Rita.

Rita

1. a female given name

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːta/
• Rhymes: -iːta
• Homophones: rita, ryta

Rita f

1. a female given name

Matronymics

• Rita's son: Rituson
• Rita's daughter: Ritudóttir

• IPA^(key): /ˈritɑ/, [ˈrit̪ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -itɑ
• Syllabification^(key): Ri‧ta
• Hyphenation^(key): Ri‧ta

< rita

Rita

1. a Finnish surname

• The surname Rita belongs to 219 individuals, according to August 2025 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

More directly from Italian Rita. Compare Riitta, which has been in use for longer.

Rita

1. a female given name

• Rita is the 287^th most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 1,781 female individuals (and as a middle name to 278 more), according to August 2025 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

From Italian Rita at the end of the 19th century.

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Rita

1. a female given name

• IPA^(key): [ˈritɒ]
• Hyphenation: Ri‧ta
• Rhymes: -tɒ

Rita

1. a female given name

• IPA^(key): /ˈri.ta/
• Rhymes: -ita
• Hyphenation: Rì‧ta

Rita f

1. a diminutive of the female given name Margherita

• arti, atri, irta, tari, tarì, tira, trai

First recorded as a given name of Latvians in 1896. Short form of Margarita.

Rita f

1. a female given name

• Klāvs Siliņš: Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca. Riga "Zinātne" 1990, →ISBN
• [1] Population Register of Latvia: Rita was the only given name of 7674 persons in Latvia on May 21st 2010.

Rita f

1. a female given name

From Italian Rita at the end of the 19th century.

Rita

1. a female given name

• Popular in Norway in 1950 - 1975.

• Hyphenation: Ri‧ta

Rita f (plural Ritas)

1. a female given name

• IPA^(key): /ˈrita/ [ˈri.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -ita
• Syllabification: Ri‧ta

Rita f

1. a female given name

From Italian Rita, later also used as a short form of Marita and Carita. First recorded as a name of Swedes in 1880.

• Audio:

  (file)

Rita c (genitive Ritas)

1. a female given name

• riat, tar i