Girls' name · since 1880
Betty
Betty has 1,001,238 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1930 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #14 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,114 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,001,238
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Yes -- Betty is the #1114 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 1,001,238 recorded since 1880.
Betty has 1,001,238 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1114 as of the latest data, more common than 94% of girls, busiest in the 1930s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #14 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,114 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,001,238 born since 1880
- 1930s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Betty ranks #14 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,114 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,001,238 born since 1880, peaking in the 1930s.
- #14 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,114 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,001,238
- born since 1880
- 1930s
- peak decade
Betty's 1,001,238 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Betty compares
1,001,238 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Betty's all-time total is 2,663x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Betty | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,001,238 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 38,240 | 21 | 19,840 |
Betty's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Betty's full recorded timeline at 1953, 13% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 87% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1881, with just 112 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1930 peak of 38,240 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Betty popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1930)
- 38,240
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Betty popularity over time - boys
3,619 total births recorded since 1904 (Betty as boys' name)
Betty by decade
1930s is the heaviest window (300,409 births, 30% of the file).
1930s was Betty's strongest decade.
300,409 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 30% of all-time use.
Betty births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,519
1880s
1,519 births
- 1890s 3,196
1890s
3,196 births
- 1900s 7,921
1900s
7,921 births
- 1910s 44,894
1910s
44,894 births
- 1920s
1920s
283,096 births
- 1930s
1930s
300,409 births
- 1940s
1940s
194,623 births
- 1950s 103,204
1950s
103,204 births
- 1960s 38,397
1960s
38,397 births
- 1970s 11,708
1970s
11,708 births
- 1980s 5,163
1980s
5,163 births
- 1990s 2,638
1990s
2,638 births
- 2000s 1,446
2000s
1,446 births
- 2010s 1,744
2010s
1,744 births
- 2020s 1,280
2020s
1,280 births
What this shows Peak: 1930s at 300,409 births (30% of all-time use).
How Betty 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 Betty's total volume
Betty by state
Where Betty concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 66,290 | 6.6% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 60,182 | 6.0% |
| #3 | Texas | | 54,581 | 5.5% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 49,019 | 4.9% |
| #5 | North Carolina | | 44,002 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 40,802 | 4.1% |
| #7 | New York | | 39,753 | 4.0% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 36,371 | 3.6% |
66,290 of 1,001,238 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Betty appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Betty? ▼
Where does Betty sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Betty most popular? ▼
Where is Betty most popular? ▼
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What names are similar to Betty? ▼
What to do with Betty's data
- Betty's decade-level peak was the 1930s (300,409 total births); usage has since declined to 1,280 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Bettys (66,290 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 Betty
Nearby Names Like Betty
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Betty
Compare Betty side by side: Betty vs Beth Betty vs Bethany Betty vs Betsy
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Betty
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Betty: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1930)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Betty 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.