Girls' name · since 1896
Bette
34,897 babies named Bette in U.S. Social Security records since 1896, with the highest year being 1924. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #749 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,969 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 34,897
- born since 1896
- 1920s
- peak decade
Bette currently ranks #10969 among girls' names in America, with 34,897 babies recorded since 1896.
Bette has 34,897 recorded births among girls since 1896, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #10969 as of the latest data, more common than 37% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1896 to 2025.
- #749 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #10,969 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 34,897 born since 1896
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bette ranks #749 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,969 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 34,897 born since 1896, peaking in the 1920s.
- #749 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,969 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 34,897
- born since 1896
- 1920s
- peak decade
Bette's 34,897 recorded births place it above 98.96% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
47 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Bette compares
34,897 Top 5% higher than 95% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Bette's all-time total is 93x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Bette | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 34,897 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,736 | 21 | 19,840 |
Bette's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Bette's SSA record in two at 1956 and the more recent half accounts for 7% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 93%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1896, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1924 peak of 1,736, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Bette popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1896–2025
- Peak year (1924)
- 1,736
- Annual births at peak, across 130 years of records
Bette popularity over time - boys
22 total births recorded since 1924 (Bette as boys' name)
Bette by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (13,273 births, 38% of the file).
1920s was Bette's strongest decade.
13,273 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.
Bette births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1890s 15
1890s
15 births
- 1900s 108
1900s
108 births
- 1910s 2,288
1910s
2,288 births
- 1920s
1920s
13,273 births
- 1930s
1930s
7,389 births
- 1940s
1940s
7,034 births
- 1950s 3,438
1950s
3,438 births
- 1960s 890
1960s
890 births
- 1970s 181
1970s
181 births
- 1980s 99
1980s
99 births
- 1990s 45
1990s
45 births
- 2000s 17
2000s
17 births
- 2010s 65
2010s
65 births
- 2020s 55
2020s
55 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 13,273 births (38% of all-time use).
How Bette compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Bette's total volume
Bette by state
Where Bette concentrates geographically, total births since 1896
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 2,727 | 7.8% |
| #2 | Illinois | | 2,553 | 7.3% |
| #3 | New York | | 2,457 | 7.0% |
| #4 | California | | 2,175 | 6.2% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 2,093 | 6.0% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 1,902 | 5.5% |
| #7 | Wisconsin | | 1,375 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Minnesota | | 1,319 | 3.8% |
2,727 of 34,897 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 47 reporting states.
Bette appears in 47 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Bette's data
- Bette's decade-level peak was the 1920s (13,273 total births); usage has since declined to 55 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Bettes (2,727 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Bette
Nearby Names Like Bette
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bette
Compare Bette side by side: Bette vs Betty Bette vs Beth Bette vs Bethany
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Bette
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Bette: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1924)
Similar record span (~129 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, 1896–2025 (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 Bette 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.