How Many People Are Named Betty?
An estimated 263,134 people in the United States have the first name Betty. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #194 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 75 years old, and Betty peaked in popularity in 1930 with 38,394 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Betty 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 Betty paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Betty is overwhelmingly female, 3,619 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 75, Betty is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1961.
- Betty has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
263,134
About 1 in 1,303 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
75
years old
Peak Year
1930
38,394 births
Total Registered
1,004,638
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Betty
Betty is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 1,004,638 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Betty as a male name
Ranked #6,514 in 1988
6 male births in 1988
Peak: 1934 (170 births)
Betty as a female name
Ranked #1,008 in 2024
253 female births in 2024
Peak: 1930 (38,238 births)
Betty: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Betty span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 301,839 babies were registered. Betty has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Betty by Decade
How has Betty 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,519 | 0 | 1,519 | |
| 1890s | 3,196 | 0 | 3,196 | |
| 1900s | 7,951 | 30 | 7,921 | |
| 1910s | 44,983 | 89 | 44,894 | |
| 1920s | 283,850 | 753 | 283,097 | |
| 1930s | 301,839 | 1,431 | 300,408 | |
| 1940s | 195,364 | 742 | 194,622 | |
| 1950s | 103,515 | 311 | 103,204 | |
| 1960s | 38,568 | 172 | 38,396 | |
| 1970s | 11,769 | 62 | 11,707 | |
| 1980s | 5,192 | 29 | 5,163 | |
| 1990s | 2,638 | 0 | 2,638 | |
| 2000s | 1,445 | 0 | 1,445 | |
| 2010s | 1,742 | 0 | 1,742 | |
| 2020s | 1,067 | 0 | 1,067 | |
Betty by State
Birth registrations for Betty span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Rhode Island. On average, about 19,355 Bettys were registered per state.
Betty + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Betty as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Betty
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Betty: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Betty?
We estimate approximately 263,134 people named Betty 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 1,303 Americans share this first name.
Is Betty a common name?
Betty is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,004,638 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Betty most popular?
Betty reached peak popularity in 1930, when 38,394 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Betty is approximately 75 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Betty a female name?
Betty is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Betty Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Betty Smith, Betty Johnson, Betty 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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