ninan.org

Betty

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~355,400 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,113 among girls
Births in 2025
212 1,004,857 since 1880
Typical age
79 years, median

Betty popularity over time

Betty rank by birth year, 1880–2025Betty ranked #136 in 1880 and #1,113 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #2, in 1928.#10#100#1,000#1,113best #2 in 192818901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1930: 38,396 births recorded as Betty. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 61 years put Betty in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #1,113, with 212 births that year. It slipped 101 places against the previous year.

Babies named Betty per yearPeaks at 38,396 births in 1930.38,396 in 1930018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Betty?

Roughly 355,400 Bettys are alive in the US right now. That is out of 1,004,857 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Betty?

Half of living Bettys are older than 79, half younger. The 1940s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Betty a mid-century perennial name.

Your Betty

Ages of living people named BettyHalf of living Bettys are older than 79 and half younger.median 79020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Betty is most common

Missouri uses the name 2.4× as often as the country as a whole. Ohio, Oregon and Utah follow.

Where Betty is used more than average5 states use the name Betty more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.6× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: 1.7× the national rateORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: 1.7× the national rateOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 1.6× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: 2.4× the national rateMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Betty is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Missouri 75 2.4×
Ohio 105 1.7×
Oregon 29 1.7×
Utah 35 1.6×
Washington 60 1.6×

Betty in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Betty ranked #391 in 2025 on 108 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Notable people named Betty

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Betty White American actress and comedian 1922–2021 81
Betty Ford First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 1918–2011 72
Betty Friedan American feminist writer and activist 1921–2006 70
Betty Grable American actress and pin-up girl 1916–1973 48
Betty Hutton American actress 1921–2007 37
Betty Cuthbert Australian sprinter 1938–2017 37
Betty Compson American actress 1897–1974 35
Betty Heidler German hammer thrower 1983 34
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 410 in 1899 to 665 in 1900 — 1.6 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/betty.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).