Show ContentsRita History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Rita family

The surname Rita was first found in Rome (Italian: Roma), the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Little can be said in the space available which would do justice to the history of this beautiful city. From 1000 B.C., its history is a book of life itself. The buildings, culture, arts, cathedrals, churches, museums galleries hold untold treasures unequalled anywhere else in the world. In those ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry.

Early History of the Rita family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rita research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1808 is included under the topic Early Rita History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rita Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rita, Ritay, Ritta, Rheda and others.

Early Notables of the Rita family

Prominent among members of the family was

  • the Rita family of Rome

Rita Ranking

In the United States, the name Rita is the 16,027th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Rita migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rita Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Delfino Rita, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 2
  • Frederick Hy Rita, who settled in New York in 1861

Contemporary Notables of the name Rita (post 1700) +

  • Lawrence Di Rita, American Naval Officer, US department of Defense official from 2002
  • Louise Rita Bruce (1913-1996), American private in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, first all-female, all-African-American battalion to server overseas
  • Maria Rita Tuccio, Producer
  • Rita Moreno (b. 1931), award-winning Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • Rita Ackermann (b. 1968), Hungarian-born American artist recognized for her abstract paintings
  • Rita Mae LeBlanc (b. 1977), also known as Rita Benson LeBlanc, American former vice chairman of the board of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League
  • Rita Corrigan, American pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  • Rita "Maude" Briggs (1929-1994), American female baseball catcher who played from 1947-1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  • Rita Orlandi -Malaspina (1937-2017), Italian operatic soprano
  • Rita Eriksen (b. 1966), Norwegian singer and solo artist and as part of the Norwegian singing duo Eriksen in the 1990's


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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