Bette
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Meaning
diminutive of Elizabeth, 'God is my oath'
Bette across languages
One shared root links 26 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Elisheva, "my God is an oath"
The constellation
19 more branches of this family
How popular is Bette around the world?
In the United States, 55 babies were named Bette between 2020 and 2025.
Bette is on the official records of the United States and Brazil.
United States
1 in 400,000
In the United States, 55 babies were named Bette between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Bette peaked in the 1920s and the 1930s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 31 people in Brazil were named Bette, ranked 92,291st, with a median age of 49.
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
England and Wales
last on record 2022
Bette is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
South Australia
last on record 1956
Bette is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Bette
Most people given the name Bette in the United States were born between 1940 and 1959. The Bette you meet today is most often in her 70s or 80s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Bette deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bette 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 Bette fits with your family’s names and surname.
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