How rare is the name Bethany?

89,509 people in the United States have the first name Bethany, about 1 in 3,374. It ranks #594 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

BETHANY

#594

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
89,509
About
1 in 3,374
This common or more
61.6%
Who bears it

Of the 89,509 people named Bethany, 84.2% reported their origin as White, 6.6% as Hispanic or Latino and 3.8% as two or more races. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Bethany peaked in 1987, when 3,307 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19152025
Peak year
1987
Births that year
3,307
In 2025*
362 ▼89%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 101,086 babies have been given the name since 1915. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Bethany by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1980s, when it ranked #208. The largest share of babies named Bethany, 46.8%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1910s#6,08346
1920s#4,810119
1930s#3,502164
1940s#2,120471
1950s#1,3591,514
1960s#8853,807
1970s#41112,210
1980s#20829,435
1990s#24827,790
2000s#44415,382
2010s#8077,615
2020s#1,3202,533
Greatest Generation 1901–270.1%
Silent Generation 1928–450.4%
Baby boom 1946–643.1%
Generation X 1965–8016.9%
Millennials 1981–9646.8%
Generation Z 1997–1225.2%
2013 and later7.4%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Bethany is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Bethany has been most common in Rhode Island (2.7×), Maine (2.3×), and Alaska (2.2×), and least common in District of Columbia (0.14×).

98,508 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Bethany

#592 Constance · 89,619#593 Meghan · 89,553#595 Natasha · 89,482#596 Glenda · 89,345

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Bethany, most common first.

#4,667 Bethann · 3,919#5,385 Bethanie · 3,199#8,883 Bethanne · 1,603#13,462 Bethani · 896#18,788 Bethaney · 570#19,022 Bethania · 562#27,069 Betheny · 340#29,486 Bethan · 300

Also a last name

As a last name, Bethany ranks #27,948 of 156,621, with 910 people. See Bethany as a last name

Compare