Girl · #15,243 in 2026

Bettina

Bettina, also spelt Betina, is a female name used mainly in the German, Danish, Italian, and Hungarian languages. In German and Danish, it is a diminutive of Elisabeth; in Italian, of Elisabetta and Benedetta; and in Hungarian, of Erzsébet.

  • German
  • Danish
  • Italian
  • Hungarian
Current Rank
#15,243
Peak Rank
#714 (1965)
Total Babies
6K
5-Yr Trend
-20%
1903
First Year
2024
Last Year
1965
Peak Year
#714
Peak Rank
6K
Total Count
120
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Bettina

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Bettina, also spelt Betina, is a female name used mainly in the German, Danish, Italian, and Hungarian languages. In German and Danish, it is a diminutive of Elisabeth; in Italian, of Elisabetta and Benedetta; and in Hungarian, of Erzsébet.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • German
  • Danish
  • Italian
  • Hungarian

The Story of Bettina

Bettina first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1903, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1965: 192 births, good for #714 nationwide. About 25% of every Bettina on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. Bettina last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 6K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1900s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Bettina

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Bettina. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Notable people named Bettina

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • Bettina Allentoft (born 1973), Danish footballer
  • Bettina Aller (born 1962), Danish businesswoman
  • Bettina d'Andrea (1311–1335), Italian legal scholar and professor
  • Bettina Aptheker (born 1944), American political activist, feminist professor and author
  • Bettina Arndt (born 1949), Australian writer, commentator and sex therapist
  • Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859), German writer and novelist
  • Bettina von Arnim (artist) (born 1940), German painter
  • Bettina Bähr-Losse (born 1967), German lawyer and politician

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Names that sound like Bettina

Phonetically similar names — useful when Bettina is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bettina

What does the name Bettina mean?
Bettina, also spelt Betina, is a female name used mainly in the German, Danish, Italian, and Hungarian languages. In German and Danish, it is a diminutive of Elisabeth; in Italian, of Elisabetta and Benedetta; and in Hungarian, of Erzsébet.
What is the origin of the name Bettina?
Bettina has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: German, Danish, Italian, Hungarian.
How popular is Bettina in 2026?
In 2026, Bettina ranks #15,243 among girls' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year.
When was Bettina most popular?
Bettina reached its peak popularity in 1965, ranking #714 that year with 192 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Bettina most popular?
Bettina has historically been most popular in Massachusetts, Virginia, West Virginia. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Bettina.
Is Bettina a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Bettina is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Bettina?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Bettina include Ines, Shirl, Meg. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Bettina?
Common variants and related forms of Bettina include Benedetta, Betina, Bözsi, Elisa, Elisabet, Elisabeth. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

Similar Names

👧
Ines
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👧
Shirl
Peak #714
👧
Meg
Peak #714
👧
Kanisha
Peak #714
👧
Brittnee
Peak #714
👧
Khalilah
Peak #714
👧
Aryana
Peak #714
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Delta
Peak #713

About the name Bettina

Bettina is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1903 and has accumulated 6K births in the dataset. Bettina's peak popularity came in 1965 when it ranked #714. Use the chart and map above to compare Bettina's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.