Fun Facts About the Name Besan
- 125 babies named Besan: U.S. records list 125 babies given the name Besan from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Besan Mean?
Besan is an Arabic feminine given name, a spelling variant of Bisan or Baysan (بيسان), the Arabic name of the town of Beit She'an in the Jordan Valley. The name comes from that place name rather than from an ordinary Arabic word, so no reliable literal meaning can be given for it. The town is recorded in ancient Egyptian and biblical sources as Beth-shan, and the Arabic form continues that older Semitic name; the meaning of its second element, She'an, is disputed and remains uncertain.
The Arabic name is not related to the identical-sounding Hindi and Urdu word besan, which means chickpea flour and comes from a different linguistic stock. The two simply happen to be spelled the same way in Latin letters.
Besan Name History & Origins
Beit She'an sits where the Jezreel Valley meets the Jordan Valley. The site is named in ancient Egyptian records as Beth-shan, and it appears in the Hebrew Bible, where the book of 1 Samuel places the bodies of Saul and his sons on its walls. In the Hellenistic period the town was refounded under the Greek name Scythopolis and became one of the cities of the Decapolis. After the Arab conquest of the seventh century, the Arabic form Baysān, also written Bīsān, came into everyday use for the town.
In modern Arabic-speaking countries, particularly Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt, Bisan and its variant spellings are used as a girl's name taken from the town. The spelling Besan reflects a pronunciation in which the diphthong of Baysān is reduced to a long e, as happens in Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, giving something close to Bēsān. Because the name is transliterated into Latin letters from Arabic, spellings vary widely, including Bisan, Beesan, Baysan, and Besan.
The name is uncommon in English-speaking countries, and its use there comes mainly through contact with Arabic speakers rather than through any long-standing English tradition.
How Popular is the Name Besan?
Besan 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 2014. Its best rank was #7,037 in 2014.
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 | #10,227 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #11,235 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #15,673 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #9,673 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #12,347 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #10,606 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #11,575 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #11,819 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #14,620 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #11,028 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #7,037 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #14,903 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #13,725 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #12,344 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #12,760 | 8 | 0.0004% |
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 Besan 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.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Besan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Besan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.