Recent in Baby
When Baby Resists SolidsWhen Baby Resists SolidsBaby Biting TipsBaby Biting Tips5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair Injuries5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair InjuriesWhen Baby and Pet MeetWhen Baby and Pet MeetTreatments for ColicTreatments for ColicBaby Milestones – The First YearBaby Milestones – The First YearTips for Relieving Teething PainTips for Relieving Teething PainBenefits of Making Your Own Baby FoodBenefits of Making Your Own Baby Food

Home › Baby Names Directory › Wanita

Wanita

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Wanita

Pronounced wah-NEE-tuh /wɑˈniː.tə/Medium

Meaning: Wanita is an English phonetic respelling of Juanita, the Spanish diminutive of Juana — itself the feminine of Juan, from Hebrew Yohanan, 'God is gracious.' Dropping the silent J captured the 'wah' sound for English readers while keeping the Spanish name's meaning.Medium

In 30 seconds: Wanita is Juanita spelled the way it sounds — 'little Juana,' from the Hebrew 'God is gracious' (said 'wah-NEE-tuh'). A cross-cultural early-century name that crested in the nineteen-twenties.
💕 Browse more names
Origin MediumSpanish, Hebrew
MeaningWanita is an English phonetic respelling of Juanita, the Spanish diminutive of Juana — itself the feminine of Juan, from Hebrew Yohanan, 'God is gracious.' Dropping the silent J captured the 'wah' sound for English readers while keeping the Spanish name's meaning.
U.S. rank (2024)#17489 ↘ Falling
2024 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1924
Total births (all-time)≈ 2,533

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 192418992024

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Wanita is a respelled Juanita, the Spanish pet form of Juana, from the same root as John — Hebrew Yohanan, 'God is gracious.' The phonetic spelling let English-speaking families use a name they'd heard in the Southwest and in popular song. It reached its high around 1924 at close to a hundred girls a year.

Wanita faded after the nineteen-twenties but hung on as a rarity for a remarkably long time, with a girl or two recorded into the twenty-twenties. The Spanish Juanita remains far more familiar; the anglicized Wanita reads as a period respelling of the grandmother-and-older generation.

Did you know? Wanita is what happens when a Spanish name meets English spelling: families who loved the sound of Juanita but not its silent J simply wrote it as it lands on the ear, and the SSA records both spellings side by side.
Overall data confidence 60%
References — Wanita — phonetic respelling of Juanita < Juana < John; 1920s peak

Variations

JuanitaWanetaWanida

Nicknames

NitaWanie

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Wanita…

Juanita— the Spanish name Wanita respells
Anita— a like -nita diminutive of the same warm era
Ramona— a same-generation Spanish-flavored girls' name
Waneta— a like phonetic respelling in the same style

Explore names like Wanita

By themevintagerespellingantique

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Wanita mean?

Wanita is a respelling of Juanita, from the same root as John — Hebrew for 'God is gracious'; it carries that meaning.

How do you pronounce Wanita?

It's said wah-NEE-tuh /wɑˈniː.tə/ — three syllables, stress on the second, just like Juanita.

Is Wanita a boy or girl name?

Wanita is used as a girl's name, a respelling of Juanita.

How popular is Wanita?

Wanita was an uncommon anglicized name that crested in the nineteen-twenties and has been rare since, well behind the Spanish Juanita.

💬 Ask Nia