Bette Davis
There are approximately 29 people named Bette Davis living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 11,819,115 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Bette with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Davis. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
29
1 in 11,819,115
Named Bette
8.1K
Alive today
Named Davis
1.2M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 8.1K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1924
Average age: 76
Top Census group: White (92.9%)
Estimated bearers: 1.2M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #9
Per 100K: 359.47
Top ancestry: White (59.6%)
First name trend
Bette: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Bette. The peak year was 1924 with 1,742 births. The average person named Bette today is 76 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bette
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Bette, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 92.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bette described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Bette at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White92.9% · 11,728
- Black or African American3.2% · 404
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 164
- Two or more races1.3% · 159
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 103
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 62
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Davis surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Davis, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 59.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Davis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Davis at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White59.6% · 640,545
- Black or African American30.8% · 330,935
- Two or more races4.7% · 50,882
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 36,995
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8,343
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 6,748
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Bette has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0024% of the US population, based on 8,069 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Bette right now.
The surname Davis appears at a rate of 359.47 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.3595%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 29 people with the full name Bette Davis. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Bette
Related
Other people with the surname Davis
FAQ
Bette Davis: questions and answers
How many people are named Bette Davis?
We estimate approximately 29 people in the United States share the full name Bette Davis. That works out to about 1 in 11,819,115 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0024%) with the surname frequency (359.47 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Bette Davis?
We classify Bette Davis as "Very Rare". About 1 in 11,819,115 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Bette a male or female name?
Bette is predominantly female. Out of 34,911 total SSA registrations, 0.1% were male and 99.9% were female. See the full Bette profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Bette Davis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.