Bethany ( el, Βηθανία (''Bethania''), which is probably of Aramaic or Hebrew origin, meaning "house of affliction" or "house of figs") is a feminine given name derived from the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

place name,

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

, a town near Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where Lazarus lived in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, along with his sisters, Mary and Martha, and where Jesus stayed during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

before his

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. The name has been well-used in

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

countries. It was the 59th most popular name for girls in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 2010, having ranked as high as 11th most popular name in those countries in 1999. It was the 79th most popular name for girls in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 2010. It ranked in the 100 most popular names for girls in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the 1980s, reaching its pinnacle of popularity in 1987, when it was the 87th most popular name for girls, but its use has declined, falling to 369th most popular name there in 2010. The name ''Bethany'' is the English transliteration of the Greek name Bethania. It has been in use as a rare given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, used primarily by Catholics in honour of Mary of Bethany.

List

Notable people with the name include: * Bethany Beardslee (born 1925), American soprano *

Bethany Black Bethany Black (born 24 December 1978) is an English stand up comedian, actor and writer. Described as "Britain's only goth, lesbian, transsexual comedian", Black is known for performing black comedy, dealing with controversial subjects. As an a ...

(born 1978), English stand up comedian *

Bethany Campbell Sally Lea McCluskey (née Bostwick; April 27, 1941 – March 26, 2022), known by her pen names Bethany Campbell and Lisa Harris, was an American writer of romance novels. Biography Sally McCluskey was born on April 27, 1941, in Omaha, Nebraska. ...

, American writer of romance novels * Bethany Dillon (born 1988), Christian soft rock artist *

Bethany Donaphin Bethany Donaphin (born 1980 in New York City, New York, United States), is Head of League Operations at the Women's National Basketball Association and has been recognized for her professional achievements in sports. She is 6'2''. She is a former ...

(born 1980), American basketball player *

Bethany England Bethany England (born 3 June 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women, Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Women's Super League, FA WSL and the England women's n ...

(born 1994), English professional footballer *

Bethany Firth Bethany Charlotte Firth, (born 14 February 1996) is a Northern Irish swimmer. Since 2014 she has competed for Great Britain; previously, Firth had represented Ireland. A six time Paralympic gold medalist, she has won gold in her specialist even ...

(born 1996), Northern Irish swimmer * Bethany Goldsmith (1927–2004), American baseball pitcher * Bethany Hall-Long (born 1963), American politician from Delaware *

Bethany Hamilton Bethany Meilani Hamilton (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off and who ultimately returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her exper ...

(born 1990), American surfer and shark attack victim *

Bethany Hart Bethany Hart (born April 10, 1977) is a retired American hammer thrower. She competed at the 2005 World Championships without reaching the final. Her personal best throw was 69.89 metres, achieved in June 2008 in West Point The United S ...

(born 1977), American hammer thrower *

Bethany Kehdy Bethany Kehdy (Arabic: بيثاني كعدي) (born 29 August 1981) is a Lebanese-American culinary expert and cookbook author specializing in the cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. Early life Bethany was born in Hou ...

(born 1981), Lebanese-American culinary expert and cookbook author * Bethany Lee (born 1952), Australian film and television actress * Bethany Joy Lenz (born 1981), American singer and actress * Bethany LeSueur (born 1983), American basketball player *

Bethany Anne Lind Bethany Anne Lind is an American stage and screen actress best known for playing Grace Young in the Netflix series ''Ozark'', Molly Quinn in the Hulu series ''Reprisal'' and Leigh Tiller in ''Blood on Her Name''. She had a recurring role as Clara ...

, American stage and screen actor *

Bethanie Mattek-Sands Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former wo ...

(born 1985), American tennis player *

Bethany C. Meyers Bethany Christine Meyers (born May 24, 1986) is an American fitness and lifestyle entrepreneur. They are the founder and chief executive officer of ''be.come'', an exercise fitness program and mobile application. Early life Meyers grew up out ...

, American fitness entrepreneur * Bethany Mooradian (born 1975), American author, lecturer and internet personality *

Bethany Mota Bethany Noel Mota (born November 7, 1995) is an American video blogger. Starting with her YouTube channel, Macbarbie07, created in 2009, she rose to fame for her haul videos, in which she shows her fashion and style purchases via the internet. ...

(born 1995), American video blogger * Bethany McLean (born 1970), American editor, business writer, and author *

Bethany Rooney Bethany Rooney (formally credited as Beth Hillshafer and Bethany Rooney Hillshafer) is an American television director and producer who has worked on over three dozen television series and made-for-television films. Since her directorial debut ...

, American television director and producer *

Bethany Shriever Bethany Kate Shriever (born 19 April 1999) is an elite British cyclist, competing as a BMX racer. A World Junior champion in 2017, and winner of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup final event in Zolder in 2018, in 2021 she became the first Britis ...

(born 1999) is a British BMX racer * Bethany Veney (c. 1813–1916), American slave and autobiographer * Bethany Walsh (born 1985), Australian synchronized swimmer *

Bethany Whitmore Bethany Sarah Whitmore (born 7 December 1999) is an Australian actress, who started her professional acting career starring as Jaden Kagan in the US TV mini-series '' The Starter Wife''. Bethany is also known for her lead voice role of 8-year- ...

(born 1999), Australian actress

Fictional characters

* Bethany Cabe, fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe * Bethany Platt, fictional character on ''Coronation Street'' *

Bethany Sloane This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse. ''Clerks'' (1994) Dante Hicks Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in ''Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works at ...

, fictional lead character in the Kevin Smith film ''Dogma''

Notes

{{given name English given names Feminine given names