Find out how popular the last name Betts is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Betts.

Betts, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Betts surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Betts in America

Betts is the 1799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Betts surname appeared 19,983 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Betts.

We can also compare 2010 data for Betts to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Betts

The surname Betts is of English origin, deriving from the Middle English personal name "Bate," a diminutive form of the name Bartholomew. The name Bartholomew is derived from the Aramaic bar-Talmai, meaning "son of the furrows," referring to a ploughman or farmer.

The earliest known record of the surname Betts dates back to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which mention a Richard Bette in Norfolk. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any recorded instances of the surname, but it does list individuals with the personal name Bate, suggesting the surname's origins predate the Norman Conquest.

In the 13th century, the surname was primarily concentrated in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, where variations such as Bett, Bette, and Bettes were common. Over time, the spelling evolved to its modern form, Betts.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was John Bettes, a member of the Parliament of England in 1328. In the 15th century, Thomas Betts (c. 1400-1472) was a prominent landowner and judge from Norfolk.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Betts surname spread across England, with notable individuals including Sir John Betts (1545-1604), a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London, and Sir William Betts (1582-1639), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist from Worcestershire.

In the 18th century, John Betts (1687-1772) was a renowned clockmaker from London, whose timepieces were highly sought after by the aristocracy. Reverend John Betts (1755-1831) was a renowned Anglican clergyman and author from Huntingdonshire.

The 19th century saw the rise of Samuel Betts (1816-1878), a successful businessman and philanthropist from London, who founded the Betts Memorial Trust to support education and social welfare initiatives.

Throughout history, the Betts surname has been associated with various place names, such as Betteshanger in Kent, Bettesworth in Staffordshire, and Bettisfield in Flintshire, Wales. These place names likely derived from the surname, reflecting the influence and prominence of Betts families in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Betts

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Betts.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Betts was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Betts has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Betts was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Betts, please contact us.

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