If Moses is a pleasing starbaby choice, why not this name worn by his stepmama?
Thanks to Samantha for suggesting Bethia as Baby Name of the Day.
Even if you’ve never read a word of the Old Testament, you’re probably dimly aware of baby Moses floating to safety in his basket after the pharaoh ordered all male Hebrew children killed. The basket, conveniently, was discovered by an Egyptian princess. Some accounts say she was unable to have children of her own, and so was more than happy to raise the foundling.
Most accounts give her name as Bithiah. What’s less certain is whether she’s the daughter of the pharaoh bent on infanticide, or if she was merely another member of the royal family. The name has never been popular, but the princess is usually depicted as compassionate and generous. In some tellings, she ultimately converts to Judaism.
She’s been portrayed in many stories of Moses’ life. In 2006, a pre-Top Chef Padma Lakshmi took her turn as Moses’ rescuer in a television miniseries.
There are a handful of common spellings, and each of those implies a different pronunciation in English:
- Bithiah and Bithia lead to the three-syllable BITH ee ah;
- Contracted versions include Bitya, Batya and Batyah, each implying a two-syllable sound akin to BIT yah;
- The spelling favored here, as well as Bethiah, both lead to BETH ee uh – perhaps the least faithful to the original, but also the most accessible to an American audience.
Bethia also finds favor because:
- Her similarity to Beth, as well as ends in -ia choices like Julia, makes her familiar;
- She’s often heard in Scotland, as an Anglicized version of the Gaelic Beathag, meaning life;
- Parents seeking an Old Testament appellation less common than Rachel or Rebecca are happy to stumble on this gem.
There aren’t a lot of Bethias in the record. She’s never ranked in the US Top 1000. But if you look, they’re there:
- Nineteenth century Scottish writer Lucy Bethia Walford;
- Twentieth century American newspaper exec Edmund Graves Brown Jr. married Bethia McCay. The couple passed the name down to their only daughter, too;
- Nineteenth century Scottish industrialist Thomas Howie was son of Robert and Bethia Howie;
- The eighteenth century Lydia Chapin Taft is remembered as first woman voter in colonial America, the daughter of Seth and Bethia Chapin;
- Nineteenth century Canadian politician Thomas Black’s second wife was Bethia Clarke;
- In 1730, Castle Cary Castle in Scotland passed to the husband of heiress Bethia Baillie;
- Seventeenth century Scottish judge Robert Burnet had a daughter called Bethia.
In fact, there are a number of seventeenth century women wearing the name, and more in the centuries prior. Along with Alice and Joan, Katherine and Elizabeth, there she is, probably one of the many Old Testament names to catch on in the post-Protestant Reformation era. A New England researcher suggests that Bethia would’ve been about as common as Deborah or Margaret.
Today, of course, she’d be quite the rarity. But if you’re looking for an unusual name that’s easy to pronounce, has a worthy namesake and ties to Scotland, you can’t do much better than Bethia.
This reminds me of one I have on my family tree; Bethenia, who had a brother named Valentine and a sister named Susannah. I love that sibset!
I like Bethia, very pretty. Probably not one I would use though.
Bethenia is quite the gem to find on a family tree!
Bethia is so sweet to me. I wish she was more common. I am not as much enamored with Bithiah or Batya.
Of the options, Bethia does sound the nicest to me. And you could use the trim Beth as a nn, which is also nice. The Biblical namesake/story is a fantastic one, I have to admit. But, Bethia feels a little awkward, like a souped-up Beth that doesn’t quite work. I understand it’s not a souped-up Beth, but having forgotten/never fully learned all the Bible names and such, I don’t think Biblical first. That said, it’s a nice enough name. I could see using Bithia (or either version +h), but the Bitya/Batya version says bitty/batty to me… it’s the B, because I love the Slavic Katya and the nn Kit (I guess sounding like catty/kitty is alright with me). Overall, I’m not impressed enough to ever consider it a favorite of mine, but I’m glad to learn its history and *would* be impressed to hear it on someone else.
Nice name and has a nice story; I think most would assume it’s a creative nn for Elizabeth.
BTW, today is my birthday! Turning 41…
Happy birthday, Joy! When I turned 30, someone told me it was the new 21.
With that math in mind, you’re turning 32, and I’ll be 28 in a few weeks. The craziest part is that 32 and 28 now sound VERY young to me, and the idea that I was ever 16? Defies my imagination!
Hope you have a WONDERFUL day.
Happy Birthday!
Just think, you are officially one year wiser, smarter and savvier today than you were yesterday ! I hope that you have a wonderful day filled with meeting lots of well named people !
Enjoy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brontecakes/4209145803/
Happy birthday, Joy!
Happy Birthday, Joy!
I like Bethia. I didn’t know that it was Biblical, I just liked the sound and that it was a variation of Beth. I quite like it, and would use it in a heartbeat. My middle name is Elizabeth, so I could see using it as a roundabout way to honor myself.
To me Bethia it looks like a creative Bethany, but I have to say I really like Bithiah. It reminds me of another Biblical name I like, Asenath (Joseph’s Egyptian wife who was also a Pharaoh’s daughter.) For both name’s I think it’s the Biblical story that sells the name, more than the actual usability of the name, so I would probably only use them as middle names.
Bethia is very pretty. Personally, I think that Bithiah is my favourite version. For some reason, I’m tempted to pronounce the name with a soft “t” sound followed by an “h”.
I once knew a Bethia, she must be about 13 now. She had a brother named Adam, as I recall it. She was a nice girl, and I’ll forever associate the name with her.
I’ve just named my daughter Bethia, she was born 7/12/10. Especially considering the miraclous circumstances about her conception and birth, I couldn’t find any name appropriate to call her, but BETHIA, which means the Daughter of JEHOVA GOD, in Hebrew.
My daughter’s name is Bethia but we chose it more for the Scottish connection. I really love the name and I’ve never met another one!
I have 3 aunt Bethia’s (great-aunt, cousin and father’s sister) and named my daughter Bethia. At fifteen, she is not so fond of her “unusual” name, but I hope it will carry on through the family.
What a great tradition to carry on!
My daughter’s is name is Bethia, because of the good meaning it carries we decided to name her that name, she also loves so much.