Girls' name · since 1981
Bethan
Bethan has 89 recorded births since 1981 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1988 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #28,395 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 89
- born since 1981
- 1980s
- peak decade
Bethan sits outside today's top ranks for girls, with 89 recorded since 1981.
Bethan has 89 recorded births among girls since 1981, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1981 to 2012.
- #28,395 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 89 born since 1981
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bethan ranks #28,395 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 89 born since 1981, peaking in the 1980s.
- #28,395 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 89
- born since 1981
- 1980s
- peak decade
Bethan's 89 recorded births place it above 60.59% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Bethan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Bethan's full recorded timeline at 1993, 48% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 52% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1981, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1988 peak of 9 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Bethan popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1981–2012
- Peak year (1988)
- 9
- Annual births at peak, across 32 years of records
Bethan by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (39 births, 44% of the file).
1980s was Bethan's strongest decade.
39 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 44% of all-time use.
Bethan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s
1980s
39 births
- 1990s
1990s
24 births
- 2000s
2000s
21 births
- 2010s 5
2010s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 39 births (44% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Bethan's data
- Bethan's decade-level peak was the 1980s (39 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 2010s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Bethan
Nearby Names Like Bethan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bethan
Compare Bethan side by side: Bethan vs Betty Bethan vs Beth Bethan vs Bethany
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Bethan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1988)
Similar record span (~31 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1981–2012 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Bethan draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.