Bea

Where Bea comes from

The dictionaries list Bea as a given name — a diminutive of the female given name Beatrice — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1883
    First appearance
    #920 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1906
    Bea Benaderet born
    American actress
  3. 1908
    Peak, #829
    22 babies named Bea — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1911
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,450.
  5. 1922
    Bea Arthur born
    American actress and comedienne
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the female given name Beatrice.
Namesakes
  • Bea Arthur · American actress and comedienne, 1922–2009
  • Bea Benaderet · American actress, 1906–1968
  • Bea Alonzo · Filipino actress, born 1987
  • Bea Rose Santiago · Binibining Pilipinas-International 2013, born 1990
  • Bea Palya · Hungarian singer, born 1976

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.