Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Betty?
Births per year, rank history and how many Betties are alive today.
Betty (female) is a shortened form of the name Elizabeth. Although Betty itself was given to 108 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 391st as a registered name), most Betties are registered as Elizabeth, which ranked 74th in 2025 with 624 babies.
Most people called Betty are registered as Elizabeth, and share that name's profile: the Elizabeth you are most likely to meet is around 72 years old. Half of all Elizabeths born in England and Wales are between 40 and 76, and there are at least 250,000 of them alive today. Only some Elizabeths go by Betty.
How many babies are named Betty or Elizabeth each year?
Combined registrations of Elizabeth, Betty. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Elizabeth rank as a registered name?
Where does Betty rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Betty short for Elizabeth?
Yes - Betty is a shortened form of Elizabeth. Betties are usually registered as Elizabeth at birth.
When was the name Betty most popular?
The full name Elizabeth peaked in 1904, when around 13,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Betty itself peaked as a registered name in 1924, with 7,672 babies.
How many people are called Betty?
There's no official count of people who go by Betty, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 250,000 people registered as Elizabeth born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Betty.
How old is the typical Betty?
Most people called Betty are registered as Elizabeth. Most living Elizabeths are between 40 and 76; the most common age is about 72.
Is Betty becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak.