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Bethany

Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.

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Meaning

Biblical place-name association; the older literal meaning is disputed.

The exact entry explicitly identifies transfer from the biblical village name and marks the Aramaic etymology as highly disputed. The village association is established here; one literal translation is not treated as settled.

Origin

Hebrew

Licensed Oddity Software Baby Names Plus database. Cleaned and matched to this spelling; not independently verified. The source label may describe language, region, or tradition rather than a precise linguistic derivation.

Oddity Software · licensed source label.

English pronunciation

/ˈbɛθəni/

Recorded English reading of the biblical place-transferred given name.

Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.

Published name usage

Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.

Latest published record available for this spelling in each place and recorded usage
PlaceYearRecorded usagePublished birthsRankNotes
Canada2025Girls48 · preliminary6262025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
France2024Girls5 (rounded to 5)5507Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published.
England & Wales2025Girls67585Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published.
Northern Ireland2025Girls11161Two rank discrepancies and alternate-view differences retained. Automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published.
Scotland2025Girls7429Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published.
Ireland2025Girls6544Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published.
United States2025Girls362751Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.
United States2004Boys88143Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts.

Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.

Sources & notes

Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.

Language of use: English

Checked against cited source

The exact English proper-name section explicitly records given-name use; no new pronunciation is inferred. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Meaning: Biblical place-name association; the older literal meaning is disputed.

Checked against cited source

The exact entry explicitly identifies transfer from the biblical village name and marks the Aramaic etymology as highly disputed. The village association is established here; one literal translation is not treated as settled. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Nickname: Beth

Checked against cited source

The English personal-name entry explicitly records Beth as a short form of Bethany. This is a documented nickname option, not a required form or a claim that different parent names share a meaning. No pronunciation is transferred between spellings. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, Beth entry. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Beth&oldid=92411998. License: CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Adaptation: the exact nickname relationship is paraphrased and its usage qualification retained; no audio or images reproduced.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

View original source

This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

Origin: Hebrew

Oddity Software · licensed source

Licensed Oddity Software Baby Names Plus database. Cleaned and matched to this spelling; not independently verified. The source label may describe language, region, or tradition rather than a precise linguistic derivation.

Oddity Software · source

Licensed publication use; not an open-data license

English pronunciation: /ˈbɛθəni/

Checked against cited source

Recorded English reading of the biblical place-transferred given name.

Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.

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This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

CC BY-SA 4.0

country_CA

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country_FR

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country_IE

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Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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(C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence

License: Open Government Licence v3.0

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U.S. Social Security Administration

Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.

License: Statistics Canada Open Licence

Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

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Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.

License: CC BY 4.0

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.

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Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.

License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)

Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.

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