Bethanne
A feminine name meaning "God has favored me" or "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,097 living Americans carry the first name Bethanne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bethanne today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bethanne births was 1964 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bethanne. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 312,447 Americans
Peak year
1964
61 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2008 SSA rank
#17,952
Tracked since 1944
Census
Bethanne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,612 people with the first name Bethanne, which placed it at #8,849 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
#8,849
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,612 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
94.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bethanne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bethanne is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Bethanne 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 Bethanne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 1,525
- Two or more races2.1% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 24
- Black or African American0.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Bethanne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bethanne from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 401 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
Bethanne 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 Bethanne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bethannes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Bethanne, while Michigan, Indiana, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bethanne
Bethanne is a feminine given name believed to have originated as a combination of the Hebrew name Beth, meaning "house" or "home," and the English name Anne, derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "grace." The name first gained popularity in the English-speaking world during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Bethanne can be traced back to England in the late 16th century, where it was occasionally used as a variant spelling of the name Elizabeth. However, it was not until the 17th century that Bethanne began to gain wider recognition as a distinct name in its own right.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Bethanne was Bethanne Beale (1608-1679), an English Puritan woman who was one of the first settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Beale was known for her strong religious convictions and her dedication to the Puritan cause.
In the 18th century, the name Bethanne was relatively uncommon, but it did find some use among certain Protestant Christian communities in England and America. One notable example from this period was Bethanne Winslow (1732-1811), a American Quaker author and activist who wrote extensively on issues of social justice and religious tolerance.
As the 19th century dawned, the name Bethanne experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals to bear the name during this time was Bethanne Cady Stanton (1815-1902), a leading figure in the early women's rights movement and a prominent advocate for women's suffrage.
The 20th century saw the name Bethanne continue to be used, although it remained relatively uncommon compared to more traditional names like Elizabeth or Anne. One noteworthy individual from this period was Bethanne Graham (1918-2007), an American writer and journalist who was known for her insightful coverage of political and social issues.
Throughout its history, the name Bethanne has been associated with a sense of strength, grace, and resilience. While it may not be as widely used as some other names, it has left an indelible mark on the cultural and historical fabric of various societies, serving as a reminder of the enduring power of names and the stories they contain.
People
Bethanne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bethanne 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
Bethanne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bethanne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,097 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bethanne 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 312,447 US residents.
Is Bethanne a common name?
We classify Bethanne as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bethanne most popular?
The single biggest year for Bethanne was 1964, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bethanne is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bethanne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,612 people with the name Bethanne, or 0.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,849 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 Bethanne 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 Bethanne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bethanne appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,603 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Bethanne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bethanne is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Bethanne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bethanne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (1,525 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 Bethanne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bethanne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bethanne 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 Bethanne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bethanne 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 Bethanne 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 many people are named Bethanne?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Bethanne, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.