Betsy

Diminutive of Elizabeth
"pledged to God"

Betsy Origin and Meaning

The name Betsy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "pledged to God".

This Elizabeth nickname has a decidedly retro feel--think Betsy Ross and the Betsy Wetsy doll-- once seen as a perkier, younger-sounding alternative to Betty. But with Betty on the brink of a comeback, pigtailed Betsy could return as well.

Betsy's height of popularity was from the forties to the sixties, when she was likely to be the radio, film or TV teenaged daughter.

Betsy, spelled Betsey, was a Dickens favorite, appearing in both David Copperfield (in which Aunt Betsey had wanted David to be named after her had he been a girl) and The Pickwick Papers.

# 745 in the US

Betsy Rank in US Top 1000

# 1162 on Nameberry

Betsy Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Betsy Popularity

Famous People Named Betsy

  • Elizabeth Griscom "Betsy" Ross
    figure in the American Revolution
  • Elisabeth Dee "Betsy" DeVos
    11th U.S. Secretary of Education
  • Elizabeth Helen "Betsy" McCaughey
    American politician, former lieutenant governor of New York
  • Betsy Ann Brandt
    American actress
  • Betsy Blair (born Elizabeth Winifred Boger)
    American actress
  • Betsy Yoder
    American reality TV personality ("Breaking Amish: LA")
  • Betsy Ruth
    ring name of MaryKate Duignan Glidewell, American pro wrestler
  • Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek)
    American actress
  • Betsy Gordon Drake
    French,American actress
  • Betsy Morgan
    American Broadway actress
  • Elizabeth Marie "Betsy" Wolfe
    American Broadway actress
  • Betsy Beutler
    American actress
  • Betsy Joslyn
    American actress and singer
  • Betsy Rue
    American actress
  • Elizabeth A. "Betsy" Hodges
    American politician; 47th mayor of Minneapolis
  • Lucia Elizabeth ″Betsy″ Balcombe Abell
    friend of Napoleon I during his exile at Saint Helena
  • Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen
    American tennis player
  • Betsy Woodruff
    American political reporter
  • Betsy King
    American pro golfer
  • Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls
    American pro golfer
  • Betsy May Randle
    American actress
  • Betsy Mack Tyrell (b. 2018)
    daughter of American singer/songwriter Hillary Scott, twin to Emory JoAnn; sister to Eisele Kaye

Betsy in Pop Culture

  • Betsy Warrington Ray
    main character in the Betsy,Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace
  • Betsy
    main character in the B is for Betsy series by Carolyn Haywood
  • Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock aka Psylocke
    Marvel comics character
  • Betsy Kelso
    daughter of Michael Kelso on TV's "That 70's Show"
  • Betsy
    character in the movie "Taxi Driver"
  • Betsy Hopper
    character in movie "Betsy's Wedding"
  • Betsy Cramer
    character on American soap "One Life to Live"
  • Betsy Stewart
    character on American soap "As the World Turns"
  • Betsy Chernak Taylor
    character on American soap "Love is a Many Splendored Thing"
  • Betsy aka Bet
    character in "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens
  • Betsy Butterbur
    character in film The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
  • Betsy Bobbin
    character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books
  • "The Betsy
    " 1978 film
  • Betsy Jobs
    character in the 1999 comedy film "Dick" about President Richard Nixon