Babette
A feminine diminutive of Barbara, meaning "foreign woman" or "stranger".
Name Census estimates that about 2,038 living Americans carry the first name Babette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Babette today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Babette births was 1961 (183 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Babette. 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.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 168,182 Americans
Peak year
1961
183 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1961 SSA rank
#4,108
Tracked since 1891
Gender
Gender distribution for Babette
Out of the 3,282 babies given the name Babette since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Babette as a male name
- Ranked #4,108 in 1961
- 5 male births in 1961
- Peak: 1961 (5 births)
Babette as a female name
- Ranked #15,538 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1961 (178 births)
Popularity
Babette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Babette from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,177 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Babette 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 Babette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Babettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Babette, while Washington, Tennessee, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 72 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Babette
Babette is a diminutive form of the French name Babeth, which is a pet form of the name Elizabeth. The name Elizabeth is derived from the Hebrew name Elisheva, meaning "God is my oath." The name Babette first appeared in France during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name Babette was popularized in France and later spread to other parts of Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany. It was a common name among the French aristocracy and bourgeoisie during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Babette was Babette de Rouville, a French noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Babette de Visch, a Dutch painter who lived in the 17th century and was known for her still-life paintings.
In literature, the name Babette is most famously associated with the short story "Babette's Feast" by Danish author Karen Blixen, published in 1958. The story revolves around a French refugee cook named Babette who prepares a lavish feast for a small community of pious Christians in Norway.
Among other historical figures with the name Babette, one can mention Babette Albrecht (1903-1984), a German actress and singer, and Babette Gross (1913-1977), a French author and journalist known for her works on the French Resistance during World War II.
Another notable bearer of the name was Babette Deutsch (1895-1982), an American poet, critic, and translator who was instrumental in introducing modern French poetry to American readers. She translated works by renowned poets such as Charles Baudelaire and Paul Valéry.
People
Babette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Babette 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
Babette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Babette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,038 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Babette 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 168,182 US residents.
Is Babette a common name?
We classify Babette as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,282 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Babette most popular?
The single biggest year for Babette was 1961, when 183 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Babette is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Babette a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Babette 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.
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.