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Betty

Gender
Girl
Say it
BET-ee
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#415 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,113 for girls

Betty is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “my God is an oath”. In 2025 it ranked 415th for girls in the UK (111 babies) and 1,113th for girls in the US (212 babies).

What does Betty mean?

Hebrew: pet form of Elizabeth

“my God is an oath”

More on Wiktionary.

Is Betty a girl's or a boy's name?

Betty is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 111 girls in the UK and 212 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Betty in the UK?

Rank in 2025
415th among girls
Babies in 2025
111 about 1 in 2,500 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 4% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 111 girls in the UK were named Betty, making it the 415th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 439th. Its busiest year was 2015, with 138 girls.

Half of all the girls named Betty in the UK since 1996 were born between 2011 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 142 girls in the UK were given Betty or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #352, up from #415 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 391st in England and Wales and 780th in Scotland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1914 (#65), 1924 (#11), 1934 (#21) and 1944 (#69).

1996Busiest: 138 in 20152025
Betty in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025111#415
2024124#385
202390#486
2022122#393
2021117#423
2020105#439
2019125#384
2018108#454
2017121#403
2016116#426
2015138#372
2014126#391
201394#494
2012100#485
201186#535
201071#617
200961#663
200857#703
200743#818
200647#732
200532#918
200428#990
200315#1,492
200220#1,147
20018#2,150
200010#1,792
199914#1,415
199813#1,505
199712#1,559
199618#1,122

How popular is Betty in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,113th among girls
Babies in 2025
212 about 1 in 7,600 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 16% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 212 girls in the US were named Betty, making it the 1,113th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,173rd. Its busiest year was 1930, with 38,240 girls.

Half of all the girls named Betty in the US since 1880 were born between 1927 and 1945, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 222 girls in the US were given Betty or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #990, up from #1,113 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 38,240 in 19302025
Betty in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025212#1,113
2024253#1,012
2023202#1,186
2022210#1,157
2021205#1,187
2020198#1,173
2019163#1,377
2018216#1,130
2017177#1,317
2016179#1,327
2015192#1,266
2014196#1,240
2013177#1,321
2012141#1,552
2011167#1,372
2010136#1,593
2009150#1,516
2008141#1,605
2007135#1,645
2006138#1,567
2005135#1,525
2004140#1,452
2003148#1,364
2002129#1,479
2001154#1,276
2000176#1,148
1999183#1,086
1998197#1,009
1997189#1,018
1996217#903
1995236#829
1994276#750
1993292#724
1992296#722
1991346#642
1990406#571
1989399#561
1988395#552
1987436#497
1986408#510
1985502#437
1984504#423
1983564#390
1982635#364
1981662#354
1980658#358
1979710#331
1978714#321
1977808#293
1976908#262
19751,021#237
19741,131#228
19731,322#196
19721,364#204
19711,764#175
19701,966#169
19692,135#154
19682,133#153
19672,543#137
19662,946#121
19653,566#103
19644,070#102
19634,156#104
19624,763#97
19615,584#87
19606,501#68
19597,313#59
19587,715#54
19578,479#50
19569,218#44
19559,924#36
195410,620#36
195311,369#33
195212,129#32
195112,822#29
195013,615#26
194914,936#22
194816,625#18
194718,966#17
194619,711#14
194518,387#11
194419,761#10
194321,596#10
194221,659#9
194120,905#7
194022,077#5
193923,639#4
193825,506#4
193725,337#5
193625,868#4
193528,674#4
193431,089#2
193331,531#2
193234,420#2
193136,105#2
193038,240#2
192936,675#2
192836,083#2
192735,424#3
192632,964#3
192532,812#3
192430,600#4
192325,989#5
192220,895#6
192117,638#8
192014,016#11
191910,106#15
19188,803#21
19176,639#34
19165,136#44
19154,181#53
19142,933#62
19132,240#67
19122,011#66
19111,456#69
19101,389#69
19091,082#77
19081,128#72
19071,018#77
1906865#81
1905807#85
1904707#91
1903596#98
1902580#101
1901473#112
1900665#100
1899410#119
1898421#126
1897367#132
1896342#139
1895350#131
1894298#144
1893298#139
1892255#155
1891239#146
1890216#164
1889189#159
1888214#148
1887178#144
1886167#147
1885155#144
1884144#149
1883120#150
1882123#144
1881112#140
1880117#136

Names like Betty

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Nancy, Betsy, Polly, Elsie, Annie, Ruby, Dorothy, Mary, Bonnie, Beatrice, Edith, Hazel

Other spellings of Betty

Bettie, Beti

Names related to Betty

Bette

More Hebrew names

Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Betty: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/betty, updated 20 October 2026.