Vanita is both a surname and a feminine given name. Notable people with the surname include:
- Ruth Vanita (born 1955), Indian academic
- Vicky Vanita (1948–2007), Greek actress
- Vanita Gupta (born 1974), American lawyer
- Vanita Kharat (born 1992), Indian actress
- Vanita Kayiwa, Ugandan airline transport pilot
- Vanita Brock, a character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2