Juanita
Where Juanita comes from
From Spanish Juanita, from Juana + -ita (“-ette”), from Old Spanish Johanna, from Medieval Latin Johanna, variant of Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form of יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān) which produced John and its many doublets. Doublet of Janet, Jeanette, Jeannette, Shanae, and Sinead.
- Spanish
- Vowel-ended
Along the way
- 1880First SSA yearAlready #333 among girls — 23 babies in the first year on record.
- 1914Juanita Moore bornAmerican actress
- 1921Juanita M. Kreps bornUnited States Secretary of Commerce
- 1924Peak, #485,404 babies named Juanita — more than any year before or since.
- 1945The fadeThe first year with half the peak's births — down to #108.
In the dictionary
- A female given name from Spanish.
Namesakes
- Juanita Moore · American actress, 1914–2014
- Juanita M. Kreps · United States Secretary of Commerce, 1921–2010
- Juanita Hall · American musical theatre and film actress; singer, recording artist, 1901–1968
- Juanita du Plessis · South African singer, born 1972
- Juanita Millender-McDonald · Congresswoman, 1938–2007
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.