Bette
Bette was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,099 among girls’ names; 34,919 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,630 Americans named Bette and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 79 years old and half are between 72 and 85.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bette by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bette mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bette is “Alternative form of Betty (“diminutive of the female given name Elizabeth”).”
/bɛt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bette?
#11,099 among girls’ names, 2025
Bette fell from #11,029 in 2015 to #11,099 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born held at 5.0 per million.
1,742 babies in 1924, the peak
Bette peaked in 1924, when 1,742 babies were given it (1,736 girls, #151 among girls’ names). The 8 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,099 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 11 | #9,031 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 15 | #7,304 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,381 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 6 | #13,755 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,354 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 5 | #15,915 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 11 | #9,250 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 14 | #8,060 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 9 | #11,029 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (116)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | #12,121 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 7 | #13,397 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 5 | #17,304 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #15,261 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #17,724 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 7 | #14,147 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 5 | #15,690 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 5 | #14,700 | under 0.01 |
| 1997 | 5 | #14,008 | under 0.01 |
| 1994 | 7 | #10,698 | under 0.01 |
| 1993 | 5 | #13,696 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,519 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 12 | #7,009 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 6 | #11,559 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 5 | #12,592 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 12 | #6,309 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,865 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 7 | #8,615 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 12 | #5,707 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,238 | under 0.01 |
| 1983 | 9 | #6,760 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 11 | #5,958 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 12 | #5,598 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 17 | #4,343 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 15 | #4,645 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 8 | #7,005 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 18 | #3,922 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 15 | #4,175 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 12 | #4,884 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 14 | #4,244 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 21 | #3,128 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 21 | #3,070 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 25 | #2,810 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 32 | #2,359 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 46 | #1,810 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 44 | #1,778 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 55 | #1,508 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 56 | #1,474 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 75 | #1,241 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 105 | #1,060 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 101 | #1,073 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 117 | #992 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 146 | #889 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 145 | #859 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 191 | #731 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 188 | #718 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 267 | #591 | 0.13 |
| 1956 | 282 | #557 | 0.14 |
| 1955 | 339 | #500 | 0.17 |
| 1954 | 389 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1953 | 444 | #404 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 384 | #437 | 0.21 |
| 1951 | 495 | #358 | 0.27 |
| 1950 | 459 | #376 | 0.27 |
| 1949 | 570 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1948 | 581 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1947 | 739 | #284 | 0.42 |
| 1946 | 732 | #267 | 0.47 |
| 1945 | 640 | #270 | 0.49 |
| 1944 | 691 | #261 | 0.52 |
| 1943 | 769 | #251 | 0.55 |
| 1942 | 836 | #229 | 0.62 |
| 1941 | 747 | #230 | 0.62 |
| 1940 | 729 | #233 | 0.64 |
| 1939 | 736 | #228 | 0.67 |
| 1938 | 742 | #225 | 0.67 |
| 1937 | 685 | #239 | 0.64 |
| 1936 | 717 | #227 | 0.69 |
| 1935 | 658 | #245 | 0.63 |
| 1934 | 741 | #231 | 0.71 |
| 1933 | 855 | #205 | 0.85 |
| 1932 | 772 | #220 | 0.72 |
| 1931 | 709 | #229 | 0.67 |
| 1930 | 774 | #221 | 0.69 |
| 1929 | 884 | #209 | 0.79 |
| 1928 | 1,000 | #202 | 0.87 |
| 1927 | 1,189 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1926 | 1,381 | #166 | 1.2 |
| 1925 | 1,592 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1924 | 1,736 | #151 | 1.4 |
| 1923 | 1,693 | #148 | 1.4 |
| 1922 | 1,482 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1921 | 1,316 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1920 | 1,000 | #196 | 0.83 |
| 1919 | 718 | #236 | 0.64 |
| 1918 | 582 | #260 | 0.50 |
| 1917 | 387 | #313 | 0.36 |
| 1916 | 230 | #409 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 148 | #510 | 0.15 |
| 1914 | 82 | #638 | 0.11 |
| 1913 | 53 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 38 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 29 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 21 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 19 | #942 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 18 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 16 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 11 | #1,162 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 9 | #1,269 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 9 | #1,215 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 14 | #944 | 0.05 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,500 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,750 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,629 | 0.02 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,575 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,609 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Bette a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bette has been given almost only to girls: 22 boys in 116 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bette: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bette, and how old are they?
9,630 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 34,919 Americans ever recorded as Bette. The median Bette alive today is 79 years old; half are between 72 and 85.
The 2020 Census counted 12,626 people named Bette (12,617 women and girls, 9 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,410 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,920 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,880 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 433 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 113 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 38 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 108 |
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 Bette born?
The states with the most babies named Bette are Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 2,727 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 2,553 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| New York | 2,457 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| California | 2,175 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 2,093 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 1,902 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Wisconsin | 1,375 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Minnesota | 1,319 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Iowa | 1,299 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Indiana | 1,156 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Bette is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bette is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 1.9 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 Bette 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,103,223 babies since 1880, Bette is the third most given (3.2% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 230 babies (3.5%), again the third 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 Bette
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 Bette and names like it
- Compare Bette and BettyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sBette peaked in 1924.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bette since 1910.
- The top names of 1924The year the most babies were named Bette.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bette alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.