UK girl's name
Anitha
Meaning "priceless", an Indian feminine name derived from Sanskrit.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2001. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Anitha is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Anitha popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2001 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3998, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1997, with 3 births.
This profile covers 6 England and Wales registrations across 2 recorded years from 1997 to 2001. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 100% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 6 living people in the UK are called Anitha. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2002 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Anitha ranked #3998 for girls in England and Wales in 2001, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1997, when 3 girls were registered as Anitha.
- • About 6 living people in the UK are estimated to have Anitha as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3998
2001
Births in 2001
3
Latest year
Peak year
1997
3 births
Estimated living
6
2026
Meaning
What does Anitha mean?
The name Anitha has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "anit," which means "unbound" or "limitless." The name gained popularity in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the southern states.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anitha can be found in the ancient Hindu scripture, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Anitha is mentioned as the name of a female warrior who fought valiantly alongside the Pandava princes. This reference suggests that the name was in use during the time when the Mahabharata was composed, which is believed to be between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Anitha. One of the earliest known figures was Anitha Devi, a 10th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer from the state of Karnataka. She made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and wrote several treatises on the subject.
In the 16th century, Anitha Bai, a powerful queen from the Vijayanagar Empire, ruled over parts of present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. She was known for her strategic military prowess and her patronage of the arts and literature.
Another famous Anitha was Anitha Desai, an Indian novelist and professor who was born in 1937 and passed away in 2011. She was a recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize multiple times for her literary works.
In the realm of Indian classical dance, Anitha Ratnam, born in 1965, is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer. She has performed extensively both in India and internationally, and has received numerous accolades for her contributions to the art form.
Anitha Radhakrishnan, born in 1959, is a prominent Indian film director and screenwriter. She has directed several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films in multiple languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Anitha over time
The chart below shows babies named Anitha registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2001. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Anitha, the clearest high point is 1997. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2001, compared with 3 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anitha by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Anitha was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | #3998 | 3 | 1 |
| 1990s | #3824 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Anitha
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Anitha: questions and answers
How popular is the name Anitha in the UK right now?
In 2001, Anitha was ranked #3998 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Anitha most popular?
The peak year on record was 1997, with 3 babies registered as Anitha in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Anitha?
Meaning "priceless", an Indian feminine name derived from Sanskrit.
How many people are called Anitha in the UK?
A total of 6 babies have been registered as Anitha across the 2 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.