Babetta
A feminine diminutive of Barbara, derived from the Greek word "barbaros" meaning foreign or strange.
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Babetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Babetta today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Babetta births was 1949 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Babetta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Babetta is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Babettas were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Babetta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1949
9 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1976 SSA rank
#8,242
Tracked since 1940
Census
Babetta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 147 people with the first name Babetta, which placed it at #45,869 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,869
National first-name rank
People counted
147
147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Babetta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Babetta is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Babetta described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Babetta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 118
- Black or African American10.2% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 5
- Two or more races2.7% · 4
Popularity
Babetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Babetta from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 40 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Babetta remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Babetta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Babetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Babetta
The name Babetta is a feminine given name with origins in the Italian language. It is a variant of the name Barbara, which derives from the Greek word "barbaros", meaning "foreign" or "strange". The name Barbara was popularized by the 3rd-century Christian martyr Saint Barbara, who was beheaded by her father for converting to Christianity.
Babetta emerged as a diminutive form of Barbara in Italy during the Middle Ages. It was particularly common in regions such as Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. The suffix "-etta" is a Italian diminutive, often used to indicate endearment or affection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Babetta can be found in the 14th-century Italian novella collection, "The Decameron" by Giovanni Boccaccio. In the work, a character named Babetta is mentioned, though her role is minor.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Babetta. In the 16th century, Babetta Campiglia (c. 1550-1590) was an Italian poet and writer from Siena. Her works include sonnets and madrigals, some of which were published during her lifetime.
Another notable Babetta was Babetta Battori (1580-1642), a Hungarian noblewoman and philanthropist. She was known for her support of education and founded several schools and libraries in her home region of Transylvania.
In the 18th century, Babetta Harrington (1725-1799) was a British actress and playwright. She wrote and performed in several popular comedies of the time, including "The Matrimonial Gamester" and "The Irish Widow".
Moving into the 19th century, Babetta Cori (1820-1892) was an Italian opera singer and vocal coach. She performed in major opera houses across Europe and taught many prominent singers of her era.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Babetta Chiari (1904-1982) was an Italian painter and sculptor. She was a member of the Futurist art movement and her works were exhibited in galleries throughout Italy and beyond.
While the name Babetta has faded in popularity in recent decades, it remains a part of the rich cultural heritage of Italy and the Italian language. Its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it has been borne by notable figures across various fields throughout history.
People
Babetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Babetta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Babetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Babetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Babetta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Babetta a common name?
We classify Babetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Babetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Babetta was 1949, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Babetta is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Babetta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 147 people with the name Babetta, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,869 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Babetta in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Babetta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Babetta appears almost entirely female. Of the 146 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Babetta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Babetta is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Babetta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Babetta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (118 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Babetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Babetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Babetta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Babetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Babetta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Babetta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Babetta?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Babetta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.