How Many People Are Named Bette?
An estimated 8,069 people in the United States have the first name Bette. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 76 years old, and Bette peaked in popularity in 1924 with 1,742 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Bette 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 Bette paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 76, Bette is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1960.
- Bette has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
8,069
About 1 in 42,478 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
99.9% confidence
Average Age
76
years old
Peak Year
1924
1,742 births
Total Registered
34,911
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Bette
Bette is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 34,911 total births registered, 99.9% were female.
Bette as a male name
Ranked #3,495 in 1940
5 male births in 1940
Peak: 1924 (6 births)
Bette as a female name
Ranked #9,009 in 2024
11 female births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (1,736 births)
Bette: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Bette span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 13,285 babies were registered. Bette has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Bette by Decade
How has Bette 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.
Bette by State
Birth registrations for Bette span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York. The lowest are in New Mexico, Vermont, Wyoming. On average, about 683 Bettes were registered per state.
Bette + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Bette as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Bette
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Bette: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bette?
We estimate approximately 8,069 people named Bette 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 42,478 Americans share this first name.
Is Bette a common name?
Bette is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 34,911 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Bette most popular?
Bette reached peak popularity in 1924, when 1,742 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Bette is approximately 76 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Bette a female name?
Bette is predominantly female. 99.9% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Bette Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Bette Smith, Bette Johnson, Bette 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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