Bethany

Bethany is an English given name taken from the place name of a village near Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament, where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived and where Jesus performed the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. The place name derives from the Aramaic or Hebrew, most likely meaning house of figs or house of affliction, though the precise etymology is debated. As a personal name it became especially popular among English speakers from the twentieth century onward, favored for its gentle biblical resonance. Beth is a common short form, and the name is sometimes grouped alongside other biblical place names adopted as given names such as Bethel and Jordan.