Names › Girl › B › Bethan
Girl name · Welsh origin

Bethan

Welsh origin · 100% girls · 11 born in 2025

Welsh diminutive of Elisabeth, from Hebrew Elisheva — god is my oath. One of the Welsh names that spread across the whole of Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

MeaningGod is my oath
OriginWelsh
Syllables2
NicknamesBeth
Recorded in England & Wales7,979
Born in 202511
Themes: faith

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Bethan per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
England & WalesScotlandeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1996 · 825
  • Born in 202511
  • All time7,979
  • England & Wales, 202511

How popular is Bethan?

Bethan was given to 11 babies in England and Wales in 2025. Its best year was 1996, with 825 registrations. The name is absent from American records, so there is no US curve to compare it against.

Names that sound like Bethan

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Bethany0.79
  2. Meghan0.66
  3. Bertha0.65
  4. Jean0.62
  5. Megan0.62
  6. Regan0.62
  7. Devan0.62
  8. Tegan0.62

Middle names for Bethan

Ranked by flow score
  1. Bethan Eve0.80
  2. Bethan Elizabeth0.78
  3. Bethan Josephine0.78
  4. Bethan Anne0.78
  5. Bethan Rose0.77
  6. Bethan Louise0.77

Sibling names for Bethan

Names registered alongside it, on a 30-year window
  1. Catherinesister · 0.99
  2. Richardbrother · 0.97
  3. Gabriellesister · 0.97
  4. Tarasister · 0.97
  5. Conorbrother · 0.97
  6. Markbrother · 0.96

In the British record

England and Wales, 1996–2025
  1. First recorded1996
  2. Peak year1996 · 825
  3. Years recorded30 of 30
  4. All time7,979

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. Bethan Anderson0.74
  2. Bethan White0.72
  3. Bethan Reyes0.72
  4. Bethan Moore0.72
  5. Bethan Lee0.72
  6. Bethan Hill0.72

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for Bethan

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. England & Wales1996–2025
  2. Scotland1974–2020

Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names for England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scores on this page are explained in the methodology.