Anita is a diminutive of Anna or Ana and a short form of the Spanish name Juanita. In India, Anita is a feminine form of the boy’s name Anit.
What does the name Anita mean?
Anita means “grace” and “favor” (from Anna), “Yahweh is gracious” and “Yahweh is merciful” (from Juanita) or “not guided” (from Anit).
Other spellings
Anita can also be spelled Annita, Anitta or Annitta. However, Anita is the most common form. Anagrams for Anita are Anait, Antia, Atina, Itana, Natia, Taina, Tania and Tiana.
Nicknames for Anita
Popular nicknames for Anita are Ani, Anti, Ana, Ita or Nita.
Anita as a weather phenomenon
In Europe, Anita has been the name sake for two low pressure zones. In September 1977, category five hurricane Anita hit Mexico and then quickly dissolved.
Olympian Medalists
British swimmer Anita Lonsbrough (born 1941) won the gold medal in 1960 for 200 meter breaststroke.
In 1984, American Hockey-Player Anita Miller (born 1951) won bronze with her team.
American swimmer Anita Nall (born 1976) won gold, silver and bronze at the 1992 Olympics.
In 2012, 2016 and 2020, Polish hammer thrower Anita Włodarczyk (born 1985) has won Olympian Gold.
Famous people named Anita
English Twitch-Streamer “Sweet Anita” (born 1990) is known for having Tourette Syndrome. Despite her diagnosis she is one of the most popular female streamers on the platform.
American singer Anita Ward (born 1956) is famous for her 1979 disco track “Ring MyBell“.
Anita Faye Hill (born 1956) is an American lawyer and women’s rights activist. She became famous in 1991 for accusing the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. In 2013 this incident was turned into the movie “Anita: speaking truth to power”.
Italian model Anita Pallenberg (1942 - 2017) was a known It-Girl on the 1960s and 1970s. She rose to fame as a Rolling Stones groupie.
Hong Kong singer and actress Anita Mui (1963 - 2003) was known as the “Queen of Hong Kong’s pop music”.
Fictional characters named Anita
On the TV show “Law & Order”, lieutenant Anita van Buren, played by S. Epatha Merkerson (born 1952), appeared in 390 episodes.
The 2021 movie “Anita” depicts the live of singer and actress Anita Mui.
In the Disney movie “101 Dalmatians”, Anita Dearly is the owner of the Dalmatians and one of the protagonists.
Based on the frequency of positive ratings, we can analyze how popular names are in different countries. The name Anita is currently ranked #4461 on the name leaderboard.
Curious about more trends? Find out which names are most popular in the USA, Canada, Australia, and worldwide.