Bethany

/ˈbɛθəni/

//ˈbɛθəni// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bethany" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Bethany” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,027. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,027
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bethany · Bethany · English

Bethany · rank #19,027 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,027
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bergen

Nearest frequency peer: bergen (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Bethany”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Bethany” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Bethany vs betray
57% similar
Bethany vs botany
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Bethany
PropertyValue
HeadwordBethany
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈbɛθəni/
Letters7
Frequency rank#19,027
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Bethany”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Bethanylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “bergen” (#19,026), “BG” (#19,028), “berg” (#19,025). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Bethany” is #19,027. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Bethany (IPA /ˈbɛθəni/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #19,027 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Bethany, with forms such as "bbethany", "behtany", and "betahny". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "betray", "botany", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany. The correct English form is Bethany, spelled B-E-T-H-A-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.
  2. 2
    The village where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived (Bible, John 11 v. 1)
  3. 3
    Mary of Bethany, sometimes identified as Mary Magdalene.
  4. 4
    A female given name from Aramaic, transferred use of the biblical place name.
  5. 5
    Other places naned Bethany elsewhere
  6. 6
    Other places naned Bethany elsewhere:

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Bethany appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbethany
  • behtany
  • betahny
  • bethanny
  • bethanyy
  • bethayn
  • bethhany
  • bethnay
  • betthany
  • btehany
  • ebthany

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Bethany - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bbethany1behtany2betahny2bethanny1bethanyy1bethayn2bethhany1bethnay2
Edit distance from "Bethany"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Bethany"?
"Bethany" is spelled B-E-T-H-A-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛθəni/.
What does "Bethany" mean?
As a proper noun, "Bethany" means: The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.
What words are commonly confused with "Bethany"?
"Bethany" is commonly confused with "betray", "botany". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Bethany"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bethany" is /ˈbɛθəni/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Bethany"?
From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Bethany", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blindly#19,031Baroque#19,020Burnett#19,035Camille#19,038

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

aromatic11 variantsalligator11 variantsCroatian11 variantsdeserts11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list