Meaning and history
Bethany comes from the biblical town Βηθανία (Bethania) in Greek, likely of Aramaic or Hebrew origin and possibly meaning “house of affliction” or “house of figs.” In the New Testament, Bethany is the home of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. The name has been used as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century in honor of Mary of Bethany, and it became moderately common in the United States after the 1950s.
20062006: 1,405 births, rank #243
2007: 1,168 births, rank #291
2008: 1,065 births, rank #315
2009: 965 births, rank #341
2010: 865 births, rank #368
20112011: 915 births, rank #350
2012: 904 births, rank #352
2013: 803 births, rank #386
2014: 829 births, rank #393
2015: 770 births, rank #415
20162016: 692 births, rank #460
2017: 629 births, rank #497
2018: 658 births, rank #474
2019: 550 births, rank #552
2020: 483 births, rank #601
20212021: 465 births, rank #637
2022: 444 births, rank #665
2023: 390 births, rank #720
2024: 389 births, rank #725
20252025: 362 births, rank #751
Bethany moved from #725 to #752 for girls between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1987, with 3,294 births.