Anita is a distinctive choice, ranked #1743 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Anita in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#1743
About the Name Anita
Anita has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 391 places in five years. It was most popular in 1996 at #436 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Anita is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Anita
Unlikely. With around 17 UK babies named Anita per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Anita in her class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Anita has been declining in UK popularity, dropping 391 places in the last five years. Its peak was #436 in 1996. Choosing it now means she is likely to be among the last of her generation with this name.
Anita is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Anita include: Anita Briem — Aníta Briem is an Icelandic actress and screenwriter.; Vurnon Anita — Vurnon San Benito Anita is a Curaçaoan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back for Vierde Divisie side Ajax Amateurs.; Anita Bose Pfaff — Anita Bose Pfaff is an Austrian economist, who has previously been a professor at the University of Augsburg as well as a politician in the Social Democratic....
Anita does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Anitas in the wild.
17
UK babies named Anita (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 391 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Anita
Likely around 1 other Anita in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Anita
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Aníta Briem is an Icelandic actress and screenwriter. She is known for her role as Queen Jane Seymour on The Tudors and her role as Hannah Sigursdóttir in Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Vurnon San Benito Anita is a Curaçaoan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back for Vierde Divisie side Ajax Amateurs. Born in Curaçao and raised in the Netherlands, Anita played for the Netherlands national team in 2010 before switching to play for the Curaçao national team in 2021.
Anita Bose Pfaff is an Austrian economist, who has previously been a professor at the University of Augsburg as well as a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She is the daughter of Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose and his wife, or companion, Emilie Schenkl.
Anita Shapira is an Israeli historian. She is the founder of the Yitzhak Rabin Center, professor emerita of Jewish history at Tel Aviv University, and former head of the Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University.
Anita Indira Anand is a Canadian politician, lawyer and former academic who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, Anand was elected to the House of Commons in 2019 and is the member of Parliament (MP) for Oakville East.
Anita Mui Yim-fong was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and is regarded as "Queen of Cantopop".