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Bethel

#3,405 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

House of God

Bethel has been given to 6,237 babies in the U.S. since 1890. In 2025 it ranked #3,405 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1922, with 119 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 84% girls, 16% boys all-time.

Babies named Bethel, 2025

1 in 73,700

Bethel over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Bethel over time

In 2025, Bethel went to 88% girls and 12% boys.

18902025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Bethel: meaning, origin, and history

House of God

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Bethel means

Bethel means “house of God”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,221 girls were recorded with the name Bethel between 1890 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 119 in 1922; its best national rank was #632 in 1917.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,976 in 2020 to #3,405 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,561 in 2015 to #3,405 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,016 boys were recorded with the name Bethel between 1891 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 39 in 1919; its best national rank was #748 in 1898.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #10,768 in 2020 to #10,863 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Bethel?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 73,700
45 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 35,700
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#3,405
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
51,066 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Bethel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 51,066 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Bethel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Bethels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Bethel was born before 1936 — so the typical Bethel is around 89 today.

Median birth year
1936
About 89 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
18.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
22.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
2,045
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 18.7% of all recorded uses (977).

Is Bethel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+247
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−429
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−844
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.64×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
37.8%
Peak was 1922 (119)
Years since peak
103
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#632
1917

Spellings of Bethel

Bethel is not the most common spelling — Ethel is, with 57.4% against Bethel's 1.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Bethel is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Bethel was most concentrated in Maryland — about 1 in 16,667 girls, against 1 in 33,252 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

16 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Maryland1 in 16,667
  2. 2Virginia1 in 16,667
  3. 3Georgia1 in 20,000
  4. 4Texas1 in 25,000
  5. 5Washington1 in 25,000
  6. 6California1 in 50,000
  7. 7North Carolina1 in 100,000
  8. 8New York1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Bethel is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Bethel was most concentrated in Tennessee — about 1 in 33,333 boys, against 1 in 186,817 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

03 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Tennessee1 in 33,333
  2. 2Alabama1 in 100,000
  3. 3Kentucky1 in 100,000
  4. 4Florida1 in —
  5. 5Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Bethel has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Bethel around the world

Where Bethel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1998–2025
    #1,315
    in 2025
  • France
    2011–2025
    #5,792
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1997–2024
    #3,457
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1952–2010
    #801
    in 2010

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Bethel

People whose public names include Bethel, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Bethel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,405
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 429
Best rank ever
#632
1917
Peak year
1922
119 that year
First recorded
1890
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,221
Count in 2025
45

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#10,863
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 95
Best rank ever
#748
1898
Peak year
1919
39 that year
First recorded
1891
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,016
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Bethel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

BettinaRochelMichelBetinaBethanieBetseyBettieBetsabeBetzyBethannBetteRashelBettyeBetzaidaIxchelBetsyBetsaidaBetaniaBethaniBethanyBettiRuchelBetzabeBettyjo

Names with a curve like Bethel

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Bethel, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

RubieEulaliaAdellaEvelineNovellaVeronaUnaHellenLavinaAgathaMagdaleneLeora

Sibling names for Bethel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Bethel

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