Beth

Where Beth comes from

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

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1884
    First appearance
    #930 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1961
    Peak, #65
    6,716 babies named Beth — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1972
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #113.
  4. 1981
    Beth Ditto born
    American singer
  5. 1985
    Beth Behrs born
    American actress
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the female given names Elizabeth and Bethany.
Namesakes
  • Beth Behrs · American actress, born 1985
  • Beth Ditto · American singer, born 1981
  • Beth Hart · American blues rock musician, born 1972
  • Beth Mead · English footballer, born 1995

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.