Bethany
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Meaning
biblical place name, traditionally 'house of figs'
The story
Bethany began as a place before it was ever a person: the little village on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem, where the Gospels say Jesus stayed with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and whose Hebrew name is usually read as house of figs. As a given name it is a fairly modern choice, quietly present in American records for generations before finding real momentum in the second half of the twentieth century, and it has held a steady, modest place ever since. For many families the name now carries one bearer above all: Bethany Hamilton, the Hawaiian surfer who lost her left arm to a shark attack at thirteen, was back on a board within a month, and went on to compete professionally, her story reaching millions through the film Soul Surfer. A gentle biblical place name with an unmistakably brave modern face.
How popular is Bethany around the world?
In the United States, 2,533 babies were named Bethany between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Bethany in 2017.
Bethany is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, Canada, England and Wales, Ireland, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 8,600
In the United States, 2,533 babies were named Bethany between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Bethany peaked in the 1980s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Bethany in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 5,700
In Scotland, 8 girls named Bethany were registered in 2024, the 384th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 girls named Bethany were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 7,200
In Canada, 51 girls named Bethany were born in 2024, the 560th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 8,700
In England and Wales, 67 girls named Bethany were born in 2025, the 585th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 9,000
In Ireland, 6 girls named Bethany were born in 2025, the 544th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 30,000
In Chile, 6 girls were registered as Bethany in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 220,000
In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Bethany in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 132 people in Brazil were named Bethany, ranked 33,941st, with a median age of 2.
Among people named Bethany living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 82 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.5M
In Spain, 29 residents are named Bethany, ranked 22,460th among women, with a mean age of 21.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2023
Bethany is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Bethany is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Bethany is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Bethany is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Bethany
Most people given the name Bethany in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Bethany you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Bethany deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bethany 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 Bethany fits with your family’s names and surname.
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