COMPILED FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTERS, 1880 TO THE PRESENT
American first names, tracked to the federal reporting line.

FROM THE REGISTER — CRITICALLY LOW

Bette
A female given name · United States

REPORTED IN 2025: 8 BIRTHS — THE LINE IS 5

Bette (F): reported births per year05001,0001,5002,0002,500188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 1,736 — 1924
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

The Davis spelling. The record holds 34,897 of them, 1,736 in 1924 alone. In 2025 there were 8. The reporting line is five; below it, the record prints nothing at all. It has been under before — 2002 through 2006 — and climbed out.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1896
Last reported2025 — 8 births
Peak1924 — 1,736 births
Total recorded, 1896–202534,897
Years above the line116 of a possible 130
Longest absence5 years (2002–2006)

Nearby in the register

Laverne

Critically Low · 1885–2025 · peak 1924

Melba

Critically Low · 1893–2025 · peak 1924

Millard

Critically Low · 1880–2025 · peak 1922

Loyd

Critically Low · 1880–2025 · peak 1926

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national names file (1880–2025). Names below 5 occurrences in a year are not reported.

Somewhere, a grandmother is unsurprised.

A collection of THE MUSEUM OF HOPEFUL MACHINES