Bethina
A diminutive of Elizabeth, derived from the Hebrew meaning "my God is an oath".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Bethina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bethina today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bethina births was 1964 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bethina. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bethina. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1964
5 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1981 SSA rank
#10,578
Tracked since 1964
Census
Bethina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Bethina, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bethina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bethina is Black at 39.4%. The next largest groups are White (34.9%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Bethina 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 Bethina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.4% · 43
- White34.9% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino13.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 6
- Two or more races5.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Bethina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bethina from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 10 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
Bethina 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 Bethina 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 Bethina
The name Bethina is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is thought to be a feminine variant of the biblical name Bethany, which translates to "house of dates" or "house of the poor." This connection suggests that Bethina may have been associated with notions of hospitality, humility, and compassion.
In the early centuries of the Common Era, the name Bethina appeared sporadically in various regions influenced by Judeo-Christian traditions. One of the earliest recorded instances can be found in the writings of Saint Jerome, a prominent Christian scholar from the 4th century AD, who mentioned a woman named Bethina in his letters.
During the Middle Ages, the name Bethina gained some prominence in certain European regions, particularly in areas with strong monastic traditions. It was occasionally bestowed upon nuns or women associated with religious orders, possibly as a symbolic representation of their devotion to a life of simplicity and service.
One notable figure from this period was Bethina of Schönaich (c. 1092 - 1159), a German noblewoman who founded the Benedictine convent of Gerbstedt in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Her legacy as a pious and influential abbess helped to preserve and disseminate the name within certain religious circles.
In the Renaissance era, the name Bethina made occasional appearances in various literary works and historical records. A prominent example is Bethina Balduina (1565 - 1631), a German-born poet and writer who gained recognition for her contributions to the development of the German language and literature.
As the centuries passed, the name Bethina remained relatively uncommon but continued to surface in different cultural contexts. One such figure was Bethina von Arnim (1785 - 1859), a German writer and member of the Romantic literary circle in Berlin, known for her novels and journals that explored themes of love, nature, and societal norms.
Another notable individual was Bethina Schmitt (1886 - 1968), a German-born American artist and illustrator who gained recognition for her woodcut prints and book illustrations, particularly those depicting scenes from rural life and folklore.
While the name Bethina has never achieved widespread popularity, its enduring presence throughout history speaks to its unique charm and the diverse cultural influences that have shaped its meaning and usage over time.
People
Bethina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bethina 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
Bethina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bethina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bethina 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Bethina a common name?
We classify Bethina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bethina most popular?
The single biggest year for Bethina was 1964, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bethina 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 Bethina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Bethina, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Bethina 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 Bethina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bethina leans strongly female. 104 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Bethina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bethina is Black at 39.4%. The next largest groups are White (34.9%) and Hispanic (13.8%). 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 Bethina most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Bethina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.4% (43 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 Bethina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bethina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bethina 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 Bethina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bethina 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 Bethina 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 share the name Bethina?
You can see how many Americans are named Bethina on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.