Bethany is from the Aramaic *Beit Anya* ("house of figs" or "house of poverty") — the New Testament village outside Jerusalem where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha lived (John 11). **A top-100 US baby name from 1986 to 2001, peaking at #87 in 1989**. **Bethany Hamilton (born 1990)** — **American professional surfer; at age 13 in October 2003, lost her left arm in a tiger-shark attack off Kauai while paddling out — and was back on a surfboard within one month, returning to competition within 16 months; world junior amateur title 2005, professional career launched 2007**. **Her 2004 autobiography *Soul Surfer* was adapted into a 2011 film starring AnnaSophia Robb, with Hamilton consulting on Robb's surfing scenes**. **Inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame (2017); ESPY Best Comeback Athlete (2004)**. **Bethany House Publishers** — major American Christian publisher (founded 1956); over 6,000+ titles in print. **Bethany Joy Lenz (born 1981)** — Haley James Scott on The WB / CW's *One Tree Hill* (2003-2012). **Bethany Mota** — American YouTube personality; *Dancing with the Stars* season 19 (2014).
Featured throughout American Christian culture and 21st-century surfing.
Bethany reduces to four — the number of Soul Surfer.