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.
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Bethany reduce to 3, The Communicator. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.