Girl
Betty
Betty means "God is my oath" and comes from Hebrew, giving it real etymological depth as a girl's name. It has not kept pace since its 1930s peak. In the current registry, it is instantly recognizable. It has appeared in U.S. birth records in nearly every decade since 1900, a genuinely long run.
HebrewDiminutive of Elizabeth
HebrewGod is my oath
Births by decade
1900s
7,950
1910s
44,983
1920s
283,845
1930s
301,800
1940s
195,354
1950s
103,505
1960s
38,562
1970s
11,775
1980s
5,190
1990s
2,637
2000s
1,425
2010s
1,352
Peaked in the 1930s · 998,378 total U.S. births since 1900