Bethany
Means “house of wretchedness”*
Girl’s name · /ˈbɛθəni/
What Bethany means
Means “house of wretchedness”
From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”).
Source: Wiktionary, “Bethany” (revision 92130869), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.
How popular is Bethany?
▼ 26 vs 2024
▼ 46 vs 2024
▼ 45 vs 2024
US: Falling: down from #415 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #85 in 2015.
Biggest US share so far: 1987, when 3,294 girls got the name (#87 that year). First in the US records in 1915.
How common
- About 1 in 4,440 baby girls in the US in 2025
- About 1 in 3,780 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
- About 1 in 2,556 baby girls in Scotland in 2025
“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.
Where in the US
Most popular in PA (0.66 per 1,000 girls), KY (0.64 per 1,000 girls), WI (0.59 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.
SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.
US vs UK
Bethany is #751 in the US and #585 in England & Wales (2025).
| Rank 2025 | Babies | How common | Rank 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | #751 | 362 | 1 in 4,440 | #415 |
| England & Wales | #585 | 67 | 1 in 3,780 | #85 |
| Scotland | #429 | 7 | 1 in 2,556 | #151 |
Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).
Boy or girl?
In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Bethany were girls.
| Girls | Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| US 2025 | 362 | 0 |
| England & Wales 2025 | 67 | 0 |
| US all years since 1880 | 100,902 | 184 |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 43,290 | 0 |
Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.
How to say it
IPA from Wiktionary.
If you like Bethany
Girls
- Sarah#90“masters, princes”*
- Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”*
- Rachel#250“ewe”*
- Katherine#186Variant of Catherine, possibly meaning “each of the two”*
- Alexandra#237“to defend + man”*
- Samantha#151“listener”*
For a brother
- Matthew#32“gift of the Lord”*
- Joseph#29“(God) shall add”*
- Eric#273Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1970, with 23,571 babies; 1,256 in 2025
- Michael#21“who is like God?”*
- Zachary#216“Yahweh has remembered”*
- Nicholas#112“victory + people”*
Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Bethany’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.
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