Girls' name · since 1916
Bethena
48 babies named Bethena in U.S. Social Security records since 1916, with the highest year being 1917. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #35,386 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 48
- born since 1916
- 1960s
- peak decade
48 girls have been named Bethena since 1916, though it isn't currently a top-ranked name.
Bethena has 48 recorded births among girls since 1916, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used girls names, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1916 to 1968.
- #35,386 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- 48 born since 1916
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bethena ranks #35,386 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 48 born since 1916, peaking in the 1960s.
- #35,386 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- 48
- born since 1916
- 1960s
- peak decade
Bethena's 48 recorded births place it above 50.79% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Bethena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Bethena's full recorded timeline at 1950, 56% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 44% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1916, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1917 peak of 6 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Bethena popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1916–1968
- Peak year (1917)
- 6
- Annual births at peak, across 53 years of records
Bethena by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (17 births, 35% of the file).
1960s was Bethena's strongest decade.
17 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 35% of all-time use.
Bethena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s
1910s
11 births
- 1930s
1930s
10 births
- 1950s
1950s
10 births
- 1960s
1960s
17 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 17 births (35% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Bethena
Nearby Names Like Bethena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bethena
Compare Bethena side by side: Bethena vs Betty Bethena vs Beth Bethena 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 Bethena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1917)
Similar record span (~52 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, 1916–1968 (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 Bethena 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.