Fun Facts About the Name Batya
- 746 babies named Batya: U.S. records list 746 babies given the name Batya from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Batya Mean?
Batya is a Hebrew name meaning "daughter of God," or more literally "daughter of Yah." It is built from two Hebrew elements: bat (בַּת), "daughter," and Yah (יָהּ), a shortened form of the divine name YHWH used in Hebrew poetry and names such as Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) and Isaiah (Yeshayahu). The combination bat + Yah is a theophoric construction, the same pattern found in many Hebrew names that attach a form of the divine name to a noun.
The name appears in the Hebrew Bible as בַּתְיָה and is usually transliterated in English Bibles as Bithiah (the th reflects the Hebrew letter tav). Because the second element is a divine name, the literal sense and the customary interpretation coincide here: "daughter of God." The midrashic reading that she was called God's daughter as a mark of honor is a later symbolic elaboration on top of that literal meaning, not a separate etymology.
Batya Name History & Origins
The name is biblical. It appears in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chronicles 4:18, where Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, is listed as a wife of Mered. This is the only occurrence in the Hebrew Bible, and the text gives no further information about her.
The book of Exodus does not name the Egyptian princess who takes the infant Moses from the Nile. Rabbinic literature fills that gap: the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 12b), Leviticus Rabbah, and Exodus Rabbah identify Pharaoh's daughter with Bithiah of 1 Chronicles and read her name as bat Yah, "daughter of Yah," explaining it as a name she received for acknowledging the God of Israel. That identification and the explanation attached to it are traditional interpretation, not statements found in the biblical text itself, and the biblical Bithiah and the princess of Exodus are not certainly the same person.
In Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi communities the name was pronounced Basya, because the Hebrew letter tav without a dot was read as s in Ashkenazi pronunciation. Basya then circulated as a name in its own right alongside Batya. In modern Hebrew the name is Batya, and it is used in Israel and in Jewish communities elsewhere, including English-speaking countries, where it is often spelled Batya or Bitya.
How Popular is the Name Batya?
Batya has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #4,186 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,186 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2024 | #4,895 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 2023 | #5,991 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2022 | #6,755 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2021 | #4,855 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2020 | #5,032 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #6,209 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #7,153 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2017 | #5,689 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2016 | #5,825 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #5,315 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2014 | #6,492 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #6,510 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #7,187 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2011 | #5,083 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2010 | #8,334 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #6,133 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2008 | #9,575 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #8,157 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #6,395 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2005 | #8,406 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #6,531 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #8,064 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #8,371 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #8,269 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2000 | #5,735 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #7,785 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #8,070 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #6,531 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1996 | #7,648 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #5,999 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1994 | #8,199 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #8,122 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #9,580 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #6,291 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1990 | #11,554 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #7,495 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #8,471 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #8,866 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #11,070 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #8,234 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #5,489 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #8,312 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #6,848 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #10,539 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #9,107 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #6,433 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #6,942 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #7,365 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #6,015 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #8,531 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #8,395 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #8,433 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #8,090 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Batya Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Batya's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Batya's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.