Genita
Of Latin origin, meaning "of noble birth" or "high-born".
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the first name Genita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Genita today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Genita births was 1961 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Genita. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
318
~ 1 in 1,077,844 Americans
Peak year
1961
18 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1990 SSA rank
#11,879
Tracked since 1921
Census
Genita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 394 people with the first name Genita, which placed it at #24,446 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,446
National first-name rank
People counted
394
394 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Genita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genita is Black at 58.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.7%) and Hispanic (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Genita described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Genita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.4% · 230
- White28.7% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 16
- Two or more races2.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 8
Popularity
Genita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Genita from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 101 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Genita by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Genita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Genita
The name Genita is believed to originate from the Latin language, derived from the word "genitus," meaning "born" or "begotten." This suggests that the name may have been given to children born under auspicious circumstances or during significant events.
In ancient Roman culture, names often carried symbolic meanings or were associated with particular virtues or qualities. Genita could have been chosen to represent the joy and celebration of new life or the hope and promise that a newborn child embodied.
While there are no definitive records of the name's usage in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some scholars speculate that it may have been used in certain regions of the Roman Empire, particularly in areas where Latin was widely spoken.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Genita was a Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century CE. Little is known about her life, but her name was etched on a tombstone discovered in the ruins of an ancient city near modern-day Rome.
In the 5th century, a woman named Genita was mentioned in a historical account as a prominent figure in the court of the Visigothic king Alaric I. She was said to have been a trusted advisor and played a significant role in negotiations between the Visigoths and the Roman Empire.
During the Middle Ages, a nun named Genita lived in a convent in southern France. She is remembered for her devotion to charitable works and her efforts to establish a school for orphaned children in the 11th century.
In the 16th century, Genita Altoviti was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She is known for commissioning several works of art from renowned artists of the time, including a portrait by the famous painter Raphael.
Another notable figure with the name Genita was Genita Evangelista, a Spanish writer and philosopher who lived in the 18th century. She was known for her contributions to the Enlightenment movement and her writings on the importance of education for women.
While the name Genita may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and origins in Latin language and culture make it a unique and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with deep historical roots and symbolic meaning.
People
Genita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Genita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Genita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Genita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 318 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Genita going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,077,844 US residents.
Is Genita a common name?
We classify Genita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 432 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Genita most popular?
The single biggest year for Genita was 1961, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Genita is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Genita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 394 people with the name Genita, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,446 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Genita in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Genita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Genita appears almost entirely female. Of the 392 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Genita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Genita is Black at 58.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.7%) and Hispanic (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Genita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Genita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.4% (230 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Genita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Genita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Genita in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Genita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Genita in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Genita can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Genita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.