How Many People Are Named Bethel?
An estimated 2,413 people in the United States have the first name Bethel. It is used for both genders, with 83.7% female. The average bearer is 40 years old, and Bethel peaked in popularity in 1922 with 150 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Bethel as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Bethel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
2,413
About 1 in 142,045 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
83.7% confidence
Average Age
40
years old
Peak Year
1922
150 births
Total Registered
6,186
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Bethel
Bethel is predominantly female (83.7%), though 1,010 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Bethel as a male name
Ranked #12,598 in 2022
5 male births in 2022
Peak: 1919 (39 births)
Bethel as a female name
Ranked #3,645 in 2024
42 female births in 2024
Peak: 1922 (119 births)
Bethel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Bethel span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 1,221 babies were registered. Bethel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Bethel by Decade
How has Bethel tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Bethel by State
Birth registrations for Bethel span all 29 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Kentucky, Texas, Michigan. The lowest are in Ohio, Louisiana, Florida. On average, about 57 Bethels were registered per state.
Bethel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Bethel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Bethel
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Bethel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bethel?
We estimate approximately 2,413 people named Bethel are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 142,045 Americans share this first name.
Is Bethel a common name?
Bethel is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 6,186 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Bethel most popular?
Bethel reached peak popularity in 1922, when 150 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Bethel is approximately 40 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Bethel a female name?
Bethel is predominantly female. 83.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Bethel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Bethel Smith, Bethel Johnson, Bethel Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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