Rita (given name)

Rita

Pronunciation	ˈriːtə
Gender	Female
Language(s)	Latin
Origin
Meaning	Derived from names like Margarita (pearl)
Other names
Related names	Maggie Margarita Margaret Rhiannon

Rita is a female given name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of Margarita. The feast day of Rita is generally celebrated on May 22 in honor of Saint Rita of Cascia.

In media and entertainment

In film, television and theater

• Rita Avila, Filipina actress
• Rita Bell (1893-1992), American singer, entertainer
• Rita Camarneiro (born 1988), Portuguese comedian and TV presenter
• Rita Christiani (1917–2008), Trinidad-born African-American dancer
• Rita Hayworth (1918–1987), American actress
• Rita Sririta Jensen (born 1981), Thai model and actress
• Rita Moreno (born 1931), Puerto Rican-born American actress
• Rita Raave (born 1951), Estonian actress
• Rita Ratnayake (1934–2006), Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema actress
• Rita Rätsepp (born 1962), Estonian actress
• Rita Romilly Benson (1900 – 1980), American actress and acting teacher
• Rita Rudner (born 1956), American comedian and writer
• Rita Simons (born 1977), English actress and singer
• Rita Tushingham (born 1942), English actress
• Rita Wilson (born 1956), American actress, singer, and producer

In journalism and literature

• Rita Mae Brown (born 1944), American writer and activist
• Rita Cosby (born 1964), American journalist
• Rita Deverell (born 1945), Canadian journalist
• Rita Dove (born 1952), American poet
• Rita Clay Estrada (born 1941), romance novelist
• Rita Panahi, American-Iranian Australian opinion columnist
• Rita Sebastian (died 1996), Sri Lankan journalist

In music

• Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984), stage name of Rita Thyagarajan, an Indian playback singer
• Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962), stage name of Rita Yahan-Farouz Kleinstein, Persian-born Israeli singer and actress
• Rita (Japanese singer), Japanese voice actress, singer, and lyricist
• Rita Abatzi (1914–1969), Greek singer
• Rita Coolidge (born 1945), American singer
• Rita Daniela (born 1995), Filipina singer, actress and television host
• Rita Gorr (1926–2012), Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano
• Rita Guerra (born 1967), Portuguese singer
• Rita Hosking (born 1969), American singer-songwriter
• Rita Hunter (1933–2001), British operatic dramatic soprano
• Rita Kassabian, Armenian composer
• Rita Lee (1947–2023), Brazilian musician
• Rita MacNeil (1944–2013), Canadian country and folk singer
• Rita Marley (born 1946), Jamaican singer and widow of Bob Marley
• Rita Ora (born 1990), British singer-songwriter
• Rita Pavone (born 1945), Italian singer
• Rita Reys (1924–2013), Dutch jazz singer
• Rita Sakellariou (1934–1999), Greek singer
• Rita Simons (born 1977), English actress and singer
• Rita Steblin (1951–2019), Canadian musicologist
• Rita Streich (1920–1987), operatic soprano

In visual arts

• Rita Angus (1908–1970), New Zealand painter
• Rita Donagh (born 1939), British artist

Fictional characters

• Rita, a female cat in the show Animaniacs
• Rita, in the franchise Jungledyret Hugo
• Rita, a Saluki dog in Disney film Oliver & Company
• Rita Bennett, in the TV series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay on which the series is based
• Rita Desjardin, from the book Carrie
• Rita Foster, in the film Cypher
• Rita Hanson, in the film Groundhog Day (as well as the musical of the same name)
• Rita Loud, in the TV series The Loud House
• Rita Malone, a female rat in the film Flushed Away
• Rita Mordio, in Tales of Vesperia
• Rita Repulsa, a villain in the TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
• Rita Skeeter, in the Harry Potter franchise
• Rita Stapleton, in the TV series The Guiding Light
• Rita Sullivan, in the British soap opera Coronation Street
• Rita or Susan White, in Educating Rita
• Rita, the Cardcaptors name for the Cardcaptor Sakura character Rika Sasaki
• Rita Torres, in the TV series Exosquad
• Rita, a little girl in the series Jelly Jamm
• Rita, the head girl in the first books of the series The Naughtiest Girl

In government and politics

• Rita of Armenia (1278–1333), Empress of Byzantium
• Rita Baranwal, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy, USA
• Rita Barberá (1948–2016), Spanish politician and mayor of Valencia
• Rita Borsellino (1945–2018), Italian politician
• Rita Crundwell (born 1953), American city comptroller convicted of fraud
• Rita Fan (born 1945), Hong Kong politician
• Rita Johnston (born 1935), Canadian politician
• Rita Lau (born 1953), retired Hong Kong senior government official
• Rita Potts Parks (born 1962), American politician
• Rita Süssmuth (born 1937), German politician
• Rita Tamašunienė (born 1973), Lithuanian politician
• Rita Verdonk (born 1955), Dutch politician
• Rita Tender (born in 2005), Portuguese Lady from the House of Braganza

In sport

• Rita Crockett (born 1957), American volleyball player
• Rita Drávucz (born 1980), Hungarian water polo player
• Rita Good (born 1951), Swiss alpine skier
• Rita Jeptoo (born 1981), Kenyan marathon runner
• Rita Tamašauskaitė (born 1941), Lithuanian rower

In other fields

• Rita of Cascia (1381–1457), Italian Augustinian saint
• Rita Atria (1974–1992), Italian anti-Mafia witness
• Rita R. Colwell (born 1934), environmental microbiologist
• Rita Humphries-Lewin, Jamaican stockbroker and businesswoman
• Rita Jenrette (born 1949), former wife of U.S. Representative John Jenrette
• Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012), Italian-American neurologist
• Rita López de Llergo y Seoane (1904–1979), Mexican geographer
• Rita de Acosta Lydig (1875–1929), American socialite
• Rita Jaima Paru, Papua New Guinean food entrepreneur

Fictional Characters

• Rita Repulsa, fictional character from the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers