Betsaida
Feminine · “house of fishing”
Bethsaida was a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, and its name says so — the house of fishing, or of the hunt, in Aramaic. Three of the disciples came from there, which is why the Gospels mention it as often as they do. Spanish drops the h and gives the name to daughters, which no English-speaking tradition ever did.
How old is the name Betsaida?
Betsaida first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Betsaida alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 900 people named Betsaida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Betsaida most popular?
Betsaida peaked in 2005, reaching #3809 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 11,133 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Where it comes from
From Beth-tsaida to Betsaida
The story of Betsaida
The Gospel of John names Bethsaida as the town of Andrew, Peter and Philip, and archaeologists have argued for decades about which of two mounds on the lake shore it actually was. Spanish-speaking Catholic naming has a long habit of taking biblical place names for daughters — Belén for Bethlehem, Sion for Zion, Betsaida for this one — and it is a habit English-speaking Christianity never picked up. American records carry Betsaida from 1960, concentrated in California and among Puerto Rican families.
Meaning
house of fishing
From the Aramaic beth, a house, and a word for fishing or hunting — the second element covers both, which suits a village on a lake. Beth opens a great many place names in the region, including Bethlehem, the house of bread, and Bethany.
How the name formed
- Beth-tsaida
- Bethsaida
- Betsaida
Related forms: Betsaida · Beth-tsaida
Pronouncing Betsaida
bet-SIGH-dah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, with the middle vowel said as the i in side. Spanish sounds every letter, so nothing is silent.
Nicknames for Betsaida
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 200838 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3809reached in 2005
- Change vs 2024
- −50.0%5 in 2025, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Betsaida in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Betsaida in Spanish — same name
- Beth-tsaida in Aramaic — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Betsaidas among us
people named Betsaida are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Betsaida
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The July test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Betsaida's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: July climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and July's path sketches the road Betsaida is walking now.
Betsaida sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Betsaida beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Betsaida in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The place behind it is real, excavated and named in the Gospels.
- Betsy and Saida are both usable and belong to different traditions.
- Three open syllables that survive any accent intact.
- The meaning is concrete and takes three words to give.
- English speakers will not recognize it and will read it as Betsy plus something.
- Bethsaida, Betzaida and Betsaida all appear in records, so the spelling has to be given.
- It names a place rather than a person, which is a different kind of inheritance.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Betsaida to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Betsaida? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Betsaida
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Betsaidas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Betsaida are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Betsaida in 2025?
- Betsaida ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Betsaida?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Betsaida — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Betsaida with classmates?
- Betsaida will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Betsaida
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Betsaida? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Betsaida and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle