girls' name ★ peaked 2024

Bea

Meaning A diminutive of the female given name Beatrice Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,218 Trend ↑ Rising 70%

A diminutive of the female given name Beatrice.

Rank 2025
#2,218
among girls · ↓81 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
83
named Bea · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 19,365
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2024
89 babies
All-time total
2,342
#4,226 all-time among girls
First recorded
1883
in Social Security records

Bea popularity over time

2,342 babies have been named Bea since 1883, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1908Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s 21 2 – #936
1890s 38 4 +81% #1,133
1900s 117 12 +208% #834
1910s 224 22 +91% #974
1920s 228 23 +2% #1,306
1930s 216 22 -5% #1,184
1940s 262 26 +21% #1,293
1950s 169 17 -35% #2,124
1960s 162 16 -4% #2,017
1970s 27 3 -83% #5,558
1980s 14 1 -48% #7,376
1990s 13 1 -7% #10,249
2000s 116 12 +792% #5,736
2010s 325 33 +180% #3,209
2020s (to 2025) 410 68 +110% #2,137

Where Bea is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 90 0.06 outside top 500
2027 97 0.06 outside top 500
2028 103 0.06 outside top 500
2029 109 0.07 outside top 500
2030 114 0.07 outside top 500

Where Bea is most popular

Girls named Bea per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.044 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, California, and Ohio.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Bea born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New York 35 0.088 +99%
California 45 0.054 +21%
Ohio 7 0.030 -34%
Texas 16 0.020 -55%
Florida 5 0.012 -74%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Bea

Bea is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,218 in 2025 with 83 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1883, 2,342 American babies have been named Bea. Its peak came in 2024, when 89 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Bea stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Bea?

The median living Bea is about 14 years old; half are between 4 and 66. An estimated 1,400 people named Bea are alive in the United States today.

median 14 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Bea year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 83 #2,218
2024 89 #2,137
2023 71 #2,497
2022 63 #2,724
2021 54 #3,040
2020 50 #3,150
2019 48 #3,283
2018 50 #3,209
2017 37 #4,010
2016 48 #3,335
2015 25 #5,316
2014 39 #3,856
2013 23 #5,674
2012 22 #5,927
2011 15 #7,855
2010 18 #6,950
2009 24 #5,736
2008 20 #6,592
2007 12 #9,637
2006 18 #6,902
2005 12 #8,978
2004 7 #12,954
2003 8 #11,468
2002 – –
2001 10 #9,461
2000 5 #15,365
1995 – –
1990 – –
1985 – –
1980 6 #9,198
1975 – –
1970 5 #8,090
1965 8 #4,859
1960 32 #2,017
1955 9 #4,091
1950 16 #2,548
1945 28 #1,547
1940 26 #1,523
1935 22 #1,609
1930 26 #1,536
1925 22 #1,851
1920 20 #1,959
1915 24 #1,482
1910 20 #974
1905 13 #1,060
1900 6 #1,745
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Bea

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Bea Arthur Bea Arthur American actress and comedian (1922–2009) Contemporary
  2. 2 Bea Benaderet Bea Benaderet American actress (1906–1968) Contemporary
  3. 3 Bea Miller Bea Miller American singer b. 1999 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Bea, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Bea?

The median living Bea is about 14 years old. Half of all living Beas are between 4 and 66 years old.

How many people named Bea are alive today?

An estimated 1,400 people named Bea are alive in the United States, based on 2,342 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Bea mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Beatrice.

How popular is the name Bea in 2025?

Bea ranked #2,218 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 83 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Bea?

2,342 babies have been named Bea in the United States since 1883, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Bea most popular?

Bea peaked in 2024, when 89 newborns received the name.

Is Bea a boy or girl name?

Bea is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Bea rising or falling?

Bea is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Bea become more popular?

Bea is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 114 girls named Bea in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Bea?

Well-known people named Bea include Bea Arthur (actor), Bea Benaderet (actor), Bea Miller (singer).

Names like Bea

Names that sound and feel close to Bea: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Bea with similar names → More names starting with B →