Benita

Did you know?

A few things about Benita you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Benita

Benita Fitzgerald-Brown

American hurdler (born 1961)

Choose Benita and your child shares a first name with Benita Fitzgerald-Brown, an American hurdler. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Benita, like who?” Benita Fitzgerald-Brown's Wikipedia article is available in 22 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Benita Fitzgerald-Brown on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: David, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 147,059 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Benita, 11 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Benita would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryBenita first shows up in US birth records in 1889, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 136 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1961, when it ranked #445. Today it's #8,860, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowBenita was 2.2× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 67,114 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 147,059.
• 🚀TrendBenita has climbed 93 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #8,860. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningIn Spanish, Benita means “blessed”. Our records link it to Italian, Latin and Spanish roots.

About the name Benita

Benita is a girl name of Italian, Latin and Spanish origin meaning “blessed”. It has 6 letters and 3 syllables, starting with B and ending in “-ita”. US birth records list Benita for girls from 1889 to 2025, in 133 of those 137 years. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked #445 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #8,860, with 11 babies.

Origin:Italian namesLatin namesSpanish names