Etymology

From the Russian male given name, Ники́та ‎(Nikíta), fom Ancient Greek saints' name Ἀνίκητος ‎(Aníkētos, “unconquerable”), made known in the West by Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Union leader in 1953–1964. It was understood as a form of Nicholas and taken up as a girls' name first in French and then in English.