Betsy

What Betsy means

Diminutive of Elizabeth, meaning “my God is an oath”

diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth || From Middle English Elizabeth, from the Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of the Old Testament Biblical Hebrew אלישבע (ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ, “my God is an oath”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Betsy” (revision 93600006) and “Elizabeth” (revision 94539074), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Betsy?

US: Falling: down from #1695 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #135 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1959, when 1,390 girls got the name (#228 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 25,512 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 911 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 5,964 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 GA (0.13 per 1,000 girls), CA (0.05 per 1,000 girls), TX (0.05 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Betsy is #2719 in the US and #177 in England & Wales (2025).

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 Betsy were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Betsi0 US · 22 E&W
• Betzy6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Betsy

Girls

• Andrea#235Feminine form of Andreas, meaning “manly”^*
• Samantha#151“listener”^*
• Molly#196Editor’s note Down from #144 in 2015 to #196 in 2025 in the US
• Katherine#186Variant of Catherine, possibly meaning “each of the two”^*
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*
• Amy#257“beloved”^*

For a brother

• Joel#219Editor’s note Down from #158 in 2015 to #219 in 2025 in the US
• Marcus#258Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 5,996 babies; 1,341 in 2025
• Kevin#221“dear birth/person”^*
• Anthony#46“flower”^*
• Christopher#68“carrier of Christ”^*
• Jonathan#89“God has given”^*

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 Betsy’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.