Rita began as a short form of Margarita, the Spanish and Italian version of Margaret, so it means "pearl" from the Greek margarites. Saint Rita of Cascia, the patron of impossible causes, and screen legend Rita Hayworth gave the name both a devout and a glamorous side. Rita stood at number 881 in 2000, left the top 1000 a few years later and has drifted around number 1200 to 1400 since, ranking number 1287 in 2025.