Bethlehem

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Bethlehem: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Bethlehem: Recorded since 1997, it reached #2,438 in 2005, and it stood at #3,695 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
17times a registrar ranked it
28years from first to last
#2438highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Girls

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1997–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#3174
1999	#3900
2001	#2783
2005	#2438
2006	#4157
2008	#4524
2010	#5707
2012	#5876
2013	#3536
2014	#5691
2015	#4103
2017	#3229
2018	#3985
2020	#5493
2021	#5581
2022	#3533
2024	#3695

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 17 of the 28 years from 1997 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1997–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1997
First recorded at #3174 among girls in England and Wales in 1997 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1997–2024
Highest recorded position: #2438 among girls in England and Wales, in 2005 (recorded 1997–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3695 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Bethlehem by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Bethlehem in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	7	2 of 10	4
2000s	21	4 of 10	5
2010sbusiest	32	7 of 10	5
2020s	18	4 of 10	5

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade — the 7 years of it this list covers, averaging 5 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Bethlehem appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #2438 in England and Wales in 2005.

Bethlehem's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3695	6	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#5581	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3985	5	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#3229	7	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#4103	5	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#5691	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#3536	6	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#5876	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#5707	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#4524	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#4157	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2438	8	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2783	5	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3900	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3174	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1997 and 2024, ranked in 17 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #2,438, first reached in 2005.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 8 births, registered in England and Wales in 2005.

Its record falls into 10 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
4 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
10separate stretches the record falls into10 or more separate stretches →
3 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period2 to 3 years missing →
#3,695position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
8births registered in its largest year, 2005Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Bethany · #11, 33y
Bethel · #1371, 24y
Beti · #1603, 14y
Betina · #277, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Evee · #2438, 21y
Oyindamola · #2438, 17y
Reham · #2438, 21y
Renai · #2438, 16y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Oyindamola · #2438, 17y
Reham · #2438, 21y
Renai · #2438, 16y
Adenike · #2436, 15y

Bethlehem and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Bethlehem without appearing here.

Bethlehem moved ahead of

Helene Compare
In 2016 they stood at #4103 and #4103 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2017 that had become #3229 and #5765.
Finlay Compare
In 2012 they stood at #5707 and #5707 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #3536 and #5742.
Kari Compare
In 2012 they stood at #5876 and #4838 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #3536 and #5742.
Lynette Compare
In 2012 they stood at #5876 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #3536 and #5742.

Moved ahead of Bethlehem

Ezra Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3536 and #5742 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #5691 and #1628.
Eabha Compare
In 2009 they stood at #4157 and #5061 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2010 that had become #5707 and #3156.
Harper Compare
In 2005 they stood at #2438 and #2682 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #4157 and #2137.
Arlo Compare
In 2017 they stood at #3229 and #3583 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3985 and #2340.

Moved the opposite way to Bethlehem

Dylan Compare
Between 2005 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Bethlehem went from #2438 to #3695 while Dylan went from #3970 to #1743.

Moved the same way as Bethlehem

Carol Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Bethlehem went from #3174 to #5581 and Carol from #897 to #3519.
Karin Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Bethlehem went from #3174 to #5581 and Karin from #1802 to #3192.
Tyler Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Bethlehem went from #3174 to #5581 and Tyler from #242 to #5581.
Kristin Compare
Between 1997 and 2020 in England and Wales · Girls, Bethlehem went from #3174 to #5493 and Kristin from #1176 to #5493.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #2438 in England and Wales in 2005. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Bethlehem by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Bethlehem appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Bethlehem and the names beside it

Bethlehem moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bethlehem

Moved the opposite way to Bethlehem

Moved the same way as Bethlehem

Bethlehem at a glance

Bethlehem by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Bethlehem appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Bethlehem and the names beside it

Bethlehem moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Bethlehem

Moved the opposite way to Bethlehem

Moved the same way as Bethlehem