I was wondering, what ethnicity is Nita? I mean Juanita isn't exactly a common white girls name, but I side from her dads side of the family being mildly Irish and her mom having the red hair that Dariene inherited I was curious about this.
I get asked this a whole lot. And also not asked it, because many people see “Juanita” and automatically assume, incorrectly, that I have two Hispanic main characters. Lately I’ve been resisting the urge to correct them on this. If they read enough of the books, they’ll figure it out. (Or else they won’t, and they’ll identify her as they prefer.)
Nita is of mixed Irish-American / Scots-American descent. The Scots end of things is more prevalent on her mom’s side of the family. (There’s some Greek and Swedish in there as well, but that’s a couple/few generations back.)
As for how common the name is among white girls, I wouldn’t know; and at the time I was creating the character, wouldn’t have cared. Nita is named (in both name and nickname) after a nurse I worked with at Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in New York, Juanita Brassard*, who was (and is) a good friend.
*Who is white, for what it’s worth.
