Bethsaida
Small Hebrew town meaning "house of fishing" or "fishing town".
Name Census estimates that about 339 living Americans carry the first name Bethsaida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bethsaida today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bethsaida births was 2005 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bethsaida. 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
339
~ 1 in 1,011,075 Americans
Peak year
2005
18 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,236
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Bethsaida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bethsaida from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 90 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Bethsaida remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bethsaida 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 Bethsaida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bethsaidas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bethsaida
The name Bethsaida originates from the ancient Aramaic language, which was widely spoken in the region of the Middle East during the time of Jesus Christ. The name itself is derived from the Hebrew words "beit" meaning "house" and "saidah" meaning "hunting" or "fishing". Therefore, the literal meaning of Bethsaida is "house of fishing" or "fishing village".
Bethsaida is mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible as a town located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus performed several miracles, including the feeding of the five thousand and the healing of a blind man. It is believed that the town was a significant fishing center during that time, which likely contributed to its name.
The earliest recorded example of the name Bethsaida can be found in the Gospel accounts of the New Testament, which were written in the 1st century AD. However, the name itself likely predates these writings and was in use among the Aramaic-speaking populations of the region.
One of the most notable individuals with the name Bethsaida was a disciple of Jesus Christ, who is mentioned in the Gospel of John as being from the town of Bethsaida (John 1:44). Beyond this biblical reference, there are few other recorded individuals with this name throughout history.
Another individual with the name Bethsaida was a Christian martyr who lived in the 4th century AD. According to historical records, she was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian for refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
In the 6th century AD, there was a Syriac bishop named Bethsaida who served in the region of modern-day Iraq. He is known for his writings on theological subjects and his contributions to the Syriac Christian tradition.
During the medieval period, there was a Coptic monk named Bethsaida who lived in Egypt in the 12th century AD. He is remembered for his ascetic lifestyle and his teachings on spiritual matters.
In more recent times, there was a Palestinian Christian woman named Bethsaida who lived in the late 19th century in the town of Bethlehem. She is notable for her involvement in establishing one of the first schools for girls in the region.
People
Bethsaida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bethsaida 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
Bethsaida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bethsaida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 339 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bethsaida 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 1,011,075 US residents.
Is Bethsaida a common name?
We classify Bethsaida as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 356 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bethsaida most popular?
The single biggest year for Bethsaida was 2005, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bethsaida is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bethsaida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bethsaida 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.