Fun Facts About the Name Bea
- More than 2 thousand babies named Bea: U.S. records list 2,339 babies given the name Bea from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Bea Mean?
Bea is usually a short form of the feminine name Beatrice and of its relatives Beatrix and the Spanish Beatriz, and it takes its meaning from them. Beatrice comes from the Latin Beatrix, built on beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy," with a feminine ending that gives the sense "she who blesses" or "she who brings joy." The literal root sense is "blessed"; "bringer of joy" is the customary interpretation that grew from it. Bea also stands on its own and is used as a short form of the Latin-derived Beata, "blessed woman," where the same "blessed" sense carries over.
Bea Name History & Origins
Bea appears in English as a pet form of Beatrice and Beatrix, names that were in use in medieval England. Beatrice entered English by way of Old French from Latin Beatrix. The name gained lasting literary prominence through Beatrice in Dante's Divine Comedy, the figure who guides the poet through Paradise; this famous literary use is separate from the name's earliest documented history, which predates it.
As a name in its own right, Bea developed alongside these longer forms. In Spanish it is the everyday short form of Beatriz and is spoken as two syllables. In Dutch and German it serves as a short form of Beatrix and Beate. In English it is also used independently and as a short form of Beata, a name given in honor of Catholic saints and blesseds.
A well-known bearer was the American actress Bea Arthur (1922 - 2009), who used Bea as her professional first name.
How Popular is the Name Bea?
Bea recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Its best rank was #834 in 1908.
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 | #2,218 | 83 | 0.0052% |
| 2024 | #2,150 | 88 | 0.0055% |
| 2023 | #2,493 | 71 | 0.0044% |
| 2022 | #2,762 | 62 | 0.0038% |
| 2021 | #3,039 | 54 | 0.0033% |
| 2020 | #3,148 | 50 | 0.0031% |
| 2019 | #3,340 | 47 | 0.0028% |
| 2018 | #3,209 | 50 | 0.0029% |
| 2017 | #4,010 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2016 | #3,334 | 48 | 0.0027% |
| 2015 | #5,316 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2014 | #3,856 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2013 | #5,674 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2012 | #5,926 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2011 | #7,854 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #6,949 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2009 | #5,736 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2008 | #6,592 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2007 | #9,636 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #6,902 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2005 | #8,978 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #12,954 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #11,468 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #9,461 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #15,365 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #10,249 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #13,517 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #7,375 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #9,199 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #5,558 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #8,886 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #7,347 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #8,091 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #7,565 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #6,085 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #4,216 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1965 | #4,858 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #3,005 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1963 | #2,550 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1962 | #2,167 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1961 | #2,153 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1960 | #2,019 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1959 | #2,155 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 1958 | #2,212 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1957 | #2,124 | 27 | 0.0013% |
| 1956 | #2,536 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1955 | #4,090 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1954 | #3,995 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #3,497 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #3,571 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1951 | #2,944 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1950 | #2,548 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1949 | #3,198 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #1,782 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1947 | #2,457 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1946 | #1,727 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 1945 | #1,547 | 28 | 0.0021% |
| 1944 | #1,921 | 20 | 0.0015% |
| 1943 | #1,293 | 40 | 0.0029% |
| 1942 | #1,478 | 31 | 0.0023% |
| 1941 | #1,314 | 34 | 0.0028% |
| 1940 | #1,523 | 26 | 0.0023% |
| 1939 | #2,306 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1938 | #1,184 | 38 | 0.0034% |
| 1937 | #1,787 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1936 | #1,382 | 28 | 0.0027% |
| 1935 | #1,609 | 22 | 0.0021% |
| 1934 | #2,198 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1933 | #1,557 | 23 | 0.0023% |
| 1932 | #2,147 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1931 | #1,882 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1930 | #1,536 | 26 | 0.0023% |
| 1929 | #1,714 | 22 | 0.0020% |
| 1928 | #2,785 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1927 | #1,679 | 25 | 0.0021% |
| 1926 | #1,776 | 23 | 0.0019% |
| 1925 | #1,851 | 22 | 0.0018% |
| 1924 | #1,999 | 20 | 0.0016% |
| 1923 | #1,306 | 36 | 0.0030% |
| 1922 | #2,123 | 18 | 0.0015% |
| 1921 | #1,483 | 31 | 0.0025% |
| 1920 | #1,959 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1919 | #1,806 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1918 | #1,415 | 30 | 0.0026% |
| 1917 | #1,434 | 27 | 0.0025% |
| 1916 | #1,695 | 21 | 0.0020% |
| 1915 | #1,482 | 24 | 0.0024% |
| 1914 | #1,152 | 28 | 0.0037% |
| 1913 | #1,092 | 25 | 0.0040% |
| 1912 | #1,304 | 17 | 0.0030% |
| 1911 | #1,461 | 11 | 0.0026% |
| 1910 | #974 | 20 | 0.0050% |
| 1909 | #940 | 19 | 0.0055% |
| 1908 | #834 | 22 | 0.0066% |
| 1907 | #992 | 15 | 0.0047% |
| 1906 | #1,053 | 13 | 0.0044% |
| 1905 | #1,060 | 13 | 0.0045% |
| 1904 | #1,504 | 7 | 0.0025% |
| 1903 | #1,213 | 9 | 0.0034% |
| 1902 | #1,329 | 8 | 0.0030% |
| 1901 | #1,702 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1900 | #1,745 | 6 | 0.0020% |
| 1898 | #1,730 | 5 | 0.0019% |
| 1897 | #1,400 | 6 | 0.0026% |
| 1896 | #1,133 | 9 | 0.0038% |
| 1894 | #1,248 | 7 | 0.0031% |
| 1893 | #1,291 | 6 | 0.0028% |
| 1892 | #1,478 | 5 | 0.0024% |
| 1889 | #1,302 | 5 | 0.0028% |
| 1888 | #1,147 | 6 | 0.0034% |
| 1886 | #1,121 | 5 | 0.0035% |
| 1883 | #936 | 5 | 0.0045% |
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 Bea 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 have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Bea's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bea's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.