Belen
Belen was the 785th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 345 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 671st with 431 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 142 places. More babies were named Belen in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Bethlehem, 'house of bread' (Spanish) · Spanish, Hebrew
Say it beh-LEN /bɛˈlɛn/
- Rank in 2025
- #785 girls, up 96 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 345girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024431 babies
- Total since 1880
- 12,366babies recorded
What does the name Belen mean?
Belen is the English spelling of Spanish Belén, the Spanish name of Bethlehem, used as a girls' name in honor of the town where Jesus was born. Wiktionary traces Belén through Latin and Greek to Hebrew Beit Lechem, literally "house of bread." In Spanish, belén also means a Nativity scene, as the Real Academia Española notes. Belen has been used in the US since 1909.
בֵּית לֶחֶם (Biblical Hebrew, “house of bread (Bethlehem)”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Pronunciation: The Spanish accent puts the stress on the last syllable.
Related names: Bethlehem, Belém.
See also: Hebrew names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Belén' (Spanish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Bethlehem' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española (23rd ed., online), entry 'belén' (etymology), Real Academia Española / ASALE
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Belen popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 79 since 1982.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #785 | 345 |
| 2020 | #881 | 303 |
| 2010 | #872 | 305 |
| 2000 | #937 | 229 |
| 1990 | #1,279 | 127 |
| 1980 | #1,767 | 62 |
| 1970 | #2,047 | 40 |
| 1960 | #1,764 | 41 |
| 1950 | #1,551 | 36 |
| 1940 | #1,687 | 22 |
| 1930 | #1,754 | 21 |
| 1920 | #1,714 | 24 |
| 1910 | #1,955 | 7 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Belen, counting every spelling?
Belen is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #790 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #785 for Belen on its own. Together these spellings went to 345 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belen | 345 | #785 | 1,825 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Belen?
345 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Belen (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Belen born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 24 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Belen.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Belen?
About 11,400 people born in the US named Belen are alive today, with a median age of 18; half are between 9 and 30. That makes Belen mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Belen by state
How common Belen was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (2.6×), California (2.2×), Texas (1.7×), Arizona (1.6×), Florida (1.5×). In 22 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Belen: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Belen, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Belen · Sibling names for Belen
Questions about the name Belen
What does Belen mean?
Belen means “Bethlehem, 'house of bread' (Spanish)” (Spanish, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Belen?
Belen was the 785th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 345 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 671st with 431 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 142 places. More babies were named Belen in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Belen a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Belen in the US.
Where is Belen most popular?
In 2021–2025, Belen was most common in Maryland (0.58 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Texas.