Beth
Meaning
short for Elizabeth, 'God is my oath'
The formal names behind Beth
Beth is an established short form of this name.
Elizabeth · Hebrew origin · "God is my oath," from the Hebrew Elisheva; the great durable classic of English girl names, worn by two reigning queens and rarely out of the US top 30 in over a century of records. Its nickname wealth is unmatched: Liz, Beth, Eliza, Betsy, Libby
Beth around the world
One shared root links 26 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Elisheva "God is my oath"; medieval Iberia split off Isabel, and the nursery split off nearly everything else
The constellation
19 more branches of this family
Beth in song
Beth
KISS (1976)
A string-backed ballad sung by drummer Peter Criss about a man apologizing to the woman waiting at home, and improbably the biggest chart hit KISS ever had.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Beth peaked in the 1960s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
901 people · the #8,880 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 250,000 · median age 47
Among people named Beth living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Beth
Most people given the name Beth in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Beth you meet today is most often in her 50s or 60s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Beth deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Beth truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Beth fits with your family’s names and surname.
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