Bethlehem

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Belen in AR Argentina, ES Spain, CL Chile and 14 more, Belén in SV El Salvador, CO Colombia, FR France and Belem in BR Brazil, PT Portugal.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 15 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Bethlehem is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate name95 records spelled Bethlehem2 spellings in the group

  Also written Bethlehemu

• French surname87 records spelled Bethlehem9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom

  Languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Bethleem, Betlem, Bethléem, Bethléhem

• Indonesian name82 records spelled Bethlehem3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Betlehem

• a separate name57 records spelled Bethlehem9 spellings in the group

  Also written Betlehem

• Finnish surname36 records spelled Bethlehem4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland

  Also written Betlehem, Petlemm

• a separate name29 records spelled Bethlehem4 spellings in the group

  Also written Бетлехем

28 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Bethlehem is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, town, Jordan; city. PA;

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In Dutch, Bethlehem (a city in the West Bank, Palestine)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, Bethlehem (a city in Palestine)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Latin, alternative form of Bēthlehēmum

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 37 years between 1985–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Bethlehem Nopeceb. 1950GBformer Bishop of Port Elizabeth,Currently Rector at St Albans,Beacon Bay,East London
• Lael Bethlehemb. 1967ZASouth African academic
• Bethlehem Tilahun Alemub. 1980ETEthiopian entrepreneur and businessperson

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 98 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Bethlehem?

We estimate roughly 53 thousand people bear Bethlehem (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Bethlehem have the most bearers?

Bethlehem is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled belen.

How common is Bethlehem compared with other names?

In Argentina, Bethlehem is the 33rd most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

What does the name Bethlehem mean?

Recorded meaning: from the biblical place name; used by pilgrims or as Jewish name