Beth
Beth was given to 45 girls in 2025, #3,404 among girls’ names; 159,755 Americans have been recorded with it since 1884 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 131,000 Americans named Beth and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (82% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 52 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Beth by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Beth mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Beth is “a diminutive of the female given names Elizabeth and Bethany.”
/bɛθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Beth?
#3,404 among girls’ names, 2025
Beth rose from #3,540 in 2015 to #3,404 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 24.6 to 28.0 per million.
6,731 babies in 1961, the peak
Beth peaked in 1961, when 6,731 babies were given it (6,716 girls, #65 among girls’ names). The 45 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 45 | #3,404 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 53 | #3,054 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 31 | #4,473 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 40 | #3,773 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 52 | #3,118 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 43 | #3,507 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 33 | #4,267 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 46 | #3,406 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 38 | #3,924 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 39 | #3,862 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 44 | #3,540 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 45 | #3,493 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 35 | #4,171 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 47 | #3,426 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 49 | #3,311 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 36 | #4,121 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 40 | #3,882 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 69 | #2,665 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 61 | #2,934 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 85 | #2,251 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 57 | #2,869 | 0.03 |
| 2004 | 103 | #1,834 | 0.06 |
| 2003 | 103 | #1,813 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 107 | #1,707 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 156 | #1,258 | 0.09 |
| 2000 | 161 | #1,229 | 0.09 |
| 1999 | 175 | #1,126 | 0.10 |
| 1998 | 193 | #1,028 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 238 | #858 | 0.14 |
| 1996 | 239 | #835 | 0.14 |
| 1995 | 283 | #721 | 0.16 |
| 1994 | 315 | #673 | 0.18 |
| 1993 | 346 | #645 | 0.19 |
| 1992 | 461 | #516 | 0.25 |
| 1991 | 544 | #456 | 0.29 |
| 1990 | 663 | #392 | 0.35 |
| 1989 | 677 | #375 | 0.37 |
| 1988 | 862 | #289 | 0.48 |
| 1987 | 930 | #267 | 0.53 |
| 1986 | 1,135 | #228 | 0.66 |
| 1985 | 1,341 | #199 | 0.78 |
| 1984 | 1,632 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1983 | 1,635 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1982 | 2,003 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1981 | 2,310 | #125 | 1.4 |
| 1980 | 2,848 | #106 | 1.7 |
| 1979 | 2,688 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1978 | 2,740 | #107 | 1.8 |
| 1977 | 2,967 | #97 | 1.9 |
| 1976 | 2,306 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1975 | 2,323 | #120 | 1.6 |
| 1974 | 2,523 | #117 | 1.7 |
| 1973 | 2,563 | #117 | 1.8 |
| 1972 | 2,817 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1971 | 3,686 | #100 | 2.2 |
| 1970 | 4,247 | #92 | 2.4 |
| 1969 | 4,460 | #82 | 2.6 |
| 1968 | 4,765 | #74 | 2.9 |
| 1967 | 5,186 | #67 | 3.1 |
| 1966 | 5,444 | #65 | 3.2 |
| 1965 | 5,774 | #66 | 3.3 |
| 1964 | 6,686 | #65 | 3.5 |
| 1963 | 6,677 | #66 | 3.5 |
| 1962 | 6,419 | #66 | 3.3 |
| 1961 | 6,716 | #65 | 3.3 |
| 1960 | 6,257 | #72 | 3.1 |
| 1959 | 6,069 | #80 | 3.0 |
| 1958 | 4,978 | #95 | 2.5 |
| 1957 | 4,351 | #108 | 2.1 |
| 1956 | 3,799 | #117 | 1.9 |
| 1955 | 3,272 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1954 | 3,034 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 1953 | 2,564 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1952 | 2,360 | #146 | 1.3 |
| 1951 | 1,980 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1950 | 1,580 | #177 | 0.92 |
| 1949 | 1,357 | #201 | 0.79 |
| 1948 | 1,087 | #224 | 0.64 |
| 1947 | 1,179 | #217 | 0.67 |
| 1946 | 962 | #232 | 0.61 |
| 1945 | 806 | #234 | 0.62 |
| 1944 | 750 | #240 | 0.57 |
| 1943 | 785 | #241 | 0.56 |
| 1942 | 664 | #268 | 0.49 |
| 1941 | 601 | #260 | 0.50 |
| 1940 | 470 | #290 | 0.41 |
| 1939 | 501 | #279 | 0.46 |
| 1938 | 406 | #310 | 0.37 |
| 1937 | 371 | #322 | 0.35 |
| 1936 | 326 | #350 | 0.31 |
| 1935 | 343 | #345 | 0.33 |
| 1934 | 343 | #343 | 0.33 |
| 1933 | 256 | #403 | 0.25 |
| 1932 | 276 | #393 | 0.26 |
| 1931 | 238 | #417 | 0.22 |
| 1930 | 251 | #414 | 0.22 |
| 1929 | 262 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1928 | 290 | #396 | 0.25 |
| 1927 | 310 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1926 | 329 | #373 | 0.28 |
| 1925 | 315 | #384 | 0.26 |
| 1924 | 319 | #380 | 0.26 |
| 1923 | 287 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 284 | #387 | 0.24 |
| 1921 | 356 | #347 | 0.29 |
| 1920 | 349 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1919 | 355 | #338 | 0.31 |
| 1918 | 335 | #354 | 0.29 |
| 1917 | 298 | #363 | 0.28 |
| 1916 | 285 | #364 | 0.27 |
| 1915 | 209 | #414 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 173 | #401 | 0.23 |
| 1913 | 129 | #436 | 0.21 |
| 1912 | 123 | #419 | 0.22 |
| 1911 | 57 | #565 | 0.14 |
| 1910 | 63 | #517 | 0.16 |
| 1909 | 54 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1908 | 49 | #521 | 0.15 |
| 1907 | 36 | #625 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 31 | #646 | 0.10 |
| 1905 | 22 | #780 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 30 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 32 | #574 | 0.12 |
| 1902 | 28 | #623 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 23 | #662 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 29 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1899 | 32 | #526 | 0.14 |
| 1898 | 22 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1897 | 27 | #584 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 29 | #566 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 22 | #660 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 24 | #597 | 0.11 |
| 1893 | 27 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1892 | 18 | #687 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 24 | #525 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 15 | #694 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 26 | #486 | 0.15 |
| 1888 | 8 | #967 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 11 | #695 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 17 | #542 | 0.12 |
| 1885 | 9 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 6 | #940 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Beth a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Beth has been given almost only to girls: 325 boys in 142 years of records.
Girls and boys named Beth: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Beth, and how old are they?
131,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 82% of the 159,755 Americans ever recorded as Beth. The median Beth alive today is 61 years old; half are between 52 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 136,269 people named Beth (136,155 women and girls, 114 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 137,986 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,910 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 58,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 53,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 14,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,660 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 541 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Beth born?
The states with the most babies named Beth are Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 16,288 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| New York | 14,293 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 14,202 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Illinois | 10,311 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 9,506 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 7,689 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| California | 6,999 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Wisconsin | 5,872 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| New Jersey | 5,465 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 5,197 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Beth is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Beth is most over-represented in Indiana: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Beth with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Beth
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Beth and names like it
- Compare Beth and DawnaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sBeth peaked in 1961.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Beth since 1910.
- The top names of 1961The year the most babies were named Beth.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Beth alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.