Beatty
Masculine variation of Beatrice, a French name meaning "she who brings happiness".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Beatty. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beatty today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beatty births was 1925 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beatty. 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 Beatty is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beattys were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Beatty. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1925
5 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1952 SSA rank
#3,785
Tracked since 1925
Census
Beatty in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 101 people with the first name Beatty, which placed it at #53,227 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
#53,227
National first-name rank
People counted
101
101 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beatty
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beatty is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Beatty 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 Beatty at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 83
- Black or African American8.9% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 3
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
Popularity
Beatty: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beatty from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beatty 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 Beatty 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 Beatty
The given name Beatty is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "beau," meaning "beautiful" or "fair." It is believed to have originated as a nickname or descriptive term in the Middle Ages, often given to individuals with striking physical features or a pleasant demeanor.
The earliest recorded use of the name Beatty dates back to the 13th century, appearing in various historical records and parish registers across England. One of the earliest notable individuals to bear this name was Sir Beatty of Westmorland, a knight who fought in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, during the Wars of the Roses.
Throughout the centuries, the name Beatty has been associated with several prominent figures. In the 16th century, Beatty Knollys was a trusted lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I and played a crucial role in the English court. In the 17th century, Beatty Southworth was one of the accused during the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts.
The 18th century saw the rise of Beatty Jones, a renowned Welsh poet and writer who contributed significantly to the literary landscape of her time. In the 19th century, Beatty Carden was a pioneering English nurse who played a pivotal role in improving healthcare standards during the Crimean War.
Moving into the 20th century, Beatty Davis was a celebrated American actress known for her iconic roles in films such as "Jezebel" and "Dark Victory." She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and left an indelible mark on the Hollywood golden age.
These are just a few examples of the individuals who have carried the name Beatty throughout history, each leaving their unique imprint on various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Beatty + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beatty 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
Beatty: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beatty?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beatty 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Beatty a common name?
We classify Beatty as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beatty most popular?
The single biggest year for Beatty was 1925, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beatty is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Beatty in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 101 people with the name Beatty, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,227 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 Beatty 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 Beatty?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Beatty on both sides of the split. Of the 105 people counted with this name, 51 were male (48.6%) and 54 were female (51.4%). 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 Beatty?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beatty is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Beatty most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Beatty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (83 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 Beatty in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beatty a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beatty in the SSA data are male. 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 Beatty still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beatty 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 Beatty 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 Beatty?
See how many people have the name Beatty on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.