Betsy
Betsy was given to 63 girls in 2025, #2,724 among girls’ names; 48,957 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 35,200 Americans named Betsy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 45 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Betsy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Betsy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Betsy is “a diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth.”
From the clipping of Elizabeth + -sy (hypocoristic suffix).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Betsy?
#2,724 among girls’ names, 2025
Betsy fell from #1,696 in 2015 to #2,724 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 70.0 to 39.2 per million.
1,390 babies in 1959, the peak
Betsy peaked in 1959, when 1,390 girls were given it, #228 among girls’ names. The 63 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63 | #2,724 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 75 | #2,417 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 77 | #2,356 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 85 | #2,212 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 67 | #2,593 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 89 | #2,069 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 92 | #2,057 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 94 | #2,062 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 96 | #2,040 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 106 | #1,900 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 125 | #1,696 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 134 | #1,605 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 134 | #1,603 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 139 | #1,567 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 130 | #1,646 | 0.07 |
| 2010 | 154 | #1,470 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 160 | #1,453 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 219 | #1,170 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 247 | #1,060 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 370 | #747 | 0.19 |
| 2005 | 119 | #1,671 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 153 | #1,368 | 0.08 |
| 2003 | 133 | #1,466 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 123 | #1,535 | 0.07 |
| 2001 | 124 | #1,507 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 157 | #1,243 | 0.09 |
| 1999 | 153 | #1,229 | 0.09 |
| 1998 | 173 | #1,112 | 0.10 |
| 1997 | 171 | #1,097 | 0.10 |
| 1996 | 158 | #1,148 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 170 | #1,052 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 186 | #993 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 233 | #840 | 0.13 |
| 1992 | 237 | #838 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 252 | #809 | 0.13 |
| 1990 | 281 | #739 | 0.15 |
| 1989 | 302 | #674 | 0.16 |
| 1988 | 339 | #593 | 0.19 |
| 1987 | 404 | #515 | 0.23 |
| 1986 | 354 | #563 | 0.21 |
| 1985 | 399 | #507 | 0.23 |
| 1984 | 455 | #458 | 0.27 |
| 1983 | 401 | #490 | 0.24 |
| 1982 | 421 | #488 | 0.25 |
| 1981 | 448 | #473 | 0.27 |
| 1980 | 536 | #413 | 0.32 |
| 1979 | 530 | #408 | 0.33 |
| 1978 | 472 | #428 | 0.31 |
| 1977 | 470 | #433 | 0.31 |
| 1976 | 613 | #351 | 0.42 |
| 1975 | 512 | #398 | 0.35 |
| 1974 | 489 | #409 | 0.33 |
| 1973 | 549 | #379 | 0.38 |
| 1972 | 634 | #350 | 0.42 |
| 1971 | 700 | #354 | 0.42 |
| 1970 | 492 | #446 | 0.28 |
| 1969 | 414 | #474 | 0.25 |
| 1968 | 479 | #434 | 0.29 |
| 1967 | 535 | #393 | 0.32 |
| 1966 | 698 | #335 | 0.41 |
| 1965 | 932 | #287 | 0.53 |
| 1964 | 1,026 | #284 | 0.54 |
| 1963 | 1,078 | #277 | 0.56 |
| 1962 | 1,012 | #287 | 0.51 |
| 1961 | 1,132 | #270 | 0.56 |
| 1960 | 1,252 | #247 | 0.62 |
| 1959 | 1,390 | #228 | 0.69 |
| 1958 | 1,288 | #236 | 0.64 |
| 1957 | 1,097 | #261 | 0.54 |
| 1956 | 1,066 | #258 | 0.53 |
| 1955 | 984 | #275 | 0.50 |
| 1954 | 1,003 | #262 | 0.52 |
| 1953 | 986 | #259 | 0.52 |
| 1952 | 976 | #251 | 0.53 |
| 1951 | 881 | #262 | 0.49 |
| 1950 | 890 | #254 | 0.52 |
| 1949 | 769 | #277 | 0.45 |
| 1948 | 719 | #286 | 0.42 |
| 1947 | 847 | #261 | 0.48 |
| 1946 | 696 | #277 | 0.44 |
| 1945 | 651 | #266 | 0.50 |
| 1944 | 670 | #267 | 0.50 |
| 1943 | 665 | #270 | 0.48 |
| 1942 | 706 | #259 | 0.52 |
| 1941 | 650 | #252 | 0.54 |
| 1940 | 607 | #255 | 0.53 |
| 1939 | 513 | #272 | 0.47 |
| 1938 | 480 | #286 | 0.43 |
| 1937 | 450 | #294 | 0.42 |
| 1936 | 384 | #307 | 0.37 |
| 1935 | 384 | #322 | 0.37 |
| 1934 | 357 | #331 | 0.34 |
| 1933 | 323 | #349 | 0.32 |
| 1932 | 350 | #339 | 0.33 |
| 1931 | 327 | #354 | 0.31 |
| 1930 | 361 | #349 | 0.32 |
| 1929 | 341 | #356 | 0.31 |
| 1928 | 317 | #379 | 0.27 |
| 1927 | 283 | #407 | 0.24 |
| 1926 | 262 | #426 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 284 | #407 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 236 | #453 | 0.19 |
| 1923 | 217 | #467 | 0.18 |
| 1922 | 228 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1921 | 200 | #492 | 0.16 |
| 1920 | 183 | #519 | 0.15 |
| 1919 | 145 | #576 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 178 | #516 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 112 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 108 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 77 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 79 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 49 | #749 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 27 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 30 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 36 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1909 | 25 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 24 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 19 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 17 | #898 | 0.06 |
| 1905 | 17 | #904 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 15 | #939 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 11 | #1,079 | 0.04 |
| 1902 | 21 | #759 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 16 | #832 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 24 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 14 | #882 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 17 | #824 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 10 | #1,043 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 14 | #875 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 17 | #774 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 26 | #569 | 0.12 |
| 1893 | 17 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 27 | #527 | 0.13 |
| 1891 | 18 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1890 | 13 | #761 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 15 | #661 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 22 | #534 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 19 | #513 | 0.13 |
| 1886 | 20 | #494 | 0.14 |
| 1885 | 13 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1884 | 19 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1883 | 13 | #543 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 18 | #435 | 0.17 |
| 1881 | 13 | #473 | 0.14 |
| 1880 | 14 | #451 | 0.15 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Betsy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Betsy has been given almost only to girls: 10 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Betsy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Betsy, and how old are they?
35,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 48,957 Americans ever recorded as Betsy. The median Betsy alive today is 62 years old; half are between 45 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 37,502 people named Betsy (37,474 women and girls, 28 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 37,870 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 | 2,940 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 15,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 8,380 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,890 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,230 |
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 Betsy born?
The states with the most babies named Betsy are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,488 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,636 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 3,149 | #2,304 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 3,018 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Ohio | 2,964 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 2,359 | #2,431 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 2,082 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 1,739 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 1,494 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Virginia | 1,383 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Betsy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Betsy is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 2.1 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 Betsy with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 51,811 babies since 1880, Betsy is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 63 of their 63 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Betsy
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 Betsy and names like it
- Compare Betsy and BetseyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sBetsy peaked in 1959.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Betsy since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Betsy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Betsy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.