What does beth mean?
Beth is the name of the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding to the Phoenician and Greek letters that lie behind our own B. In English texts it appears chiefly in discussions of Hebrew language, scripture, and Jewish education, where words are sometimes spelled out letter by letter. The name derives from a West Semitic root meaning 'house', which also survives in words such as Bethlehem ('house of bread'). Separately, Beth functions as a familiar English given name, traditionally a diminutive of Elizabeth but now often an independent choice. Its two uses — scholarly reference to an ancient letter and warm, everyday use as a girl's name — rarely overlap, making context a reliable guide to meaning.
The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
"Psalm 119's second stanza is built on verses that each begin with beth."
A short form of the feminine given name Elizabeth.
"Beth was delighted to find her name on the classroom door."
Rarely pluralized except when referring to multiple occurrences of the letter in a text or to several people named Beth.
"The manuscript contained more beths than any other letter."
Without beth there would be no 'alphabet' — its Greek descendant beta helped give the alphabet its very name.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of beth
The word beth comes from Hebrew בֵּית (bet), meaning 'house', reflecting the acrophonic principle by which early Semitic letters were named after everyday words beginning with their sound. The same Semitic root gave Greek beta and, through Latin, the letter B; the word 'alphabet' itself ultimately preserves the names aleph and beth via Greek. As an English given name, Beth arose independently as a short form of Elizabeth, which entered English from Hebrew via Greek and Latin forms of Elisheva.
How beth is actually used
As the name of a Hebrew letter it is typically lowercase and appears mainly in linguistic, religious, or educational contexts. As a personal name, Beth is informal and familiar, usually standing in for Elizabeth.
Easily confused with beth
A bath is a container or act of washing, while beth is a Hebrew letter or a given name.
A bethel is a place of worship (especially a Nonconformist chapel), whereas beth is simply the second Hebrew letter.