The Bethea surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,061 people carried this name — #2,972 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 24,400 people counted. That is up 12% from 10,811 in 2000.

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In print

Bethea in American newspapers,
1910.

Newspaper page from The New Haven Union carrying the name Bethea
The New Haven Union 1910-03-24
Newspaper page from The Bridgeport Evening Farmer carrying the name Bethea
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer 1910-03-24
Newspaper page from Atlanta Semi-weekly Journal carrying the name Bethea
Atlanta Semi-weekly Journal 1910-03-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 22,658 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bethea in Australian newspapers,
1910s–1950s.

84 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bethea. The most, 54, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 51
Queensland 12
South Australia 11
Victoria 5
Western Australia 3
Tasmania 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bethea.

Who carried it

People named Bethea,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Solomon Hicks Bethea
    Solomon Hicks Bethea 1852–1909 · judge
  • John Bethea
    John Bethea 1921–1989 · military personnel
  • Preston Lang Bethea 1870–1944 · politician
  • Oscar Walter Bethea 1878–1963 · physician
  • Jack Bethea 1892–1928 · journalist
  • Alfred W. Bethea 1916–1999 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bethea,
in the records of the United States.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States489 records

489 records of the Bethea name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 296
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 152
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 23
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Raymond Lewis Bethea

    Born 1949; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Henry J. Bethea

    Born 1910 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jackson Columbia; waiter from Dillen County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Florence National Cemetery, South Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record James A. Bethea

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1887, died 1984; buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 489 records for Bethea in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bethea.

When the index is not enough

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