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The short answer
Belen is a feminine name in current use in the United States: it ranked #785 for girls in the United States in 2025. Belén is the Spanish name for Bethlehem, which Behind the Name derives from Hebrew meaning "house of bread". The full derivation, and how far the sources will carry it, is set out below.
Meaning and etymology
Belen is the unaccented spelling of Spanish Belén. Behind the Name's entry for Belén calls it the "Spanish form of Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King David and Jesus were born", and derives the town's name from Hebrew בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) meaning "house of bread". Wiktionary records the English Belen as a borrowing of Spanish Belén, glossed "Bethlehem".
Editorial confidence: established
Linguistic roots
| Language | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hebrew | בֵּית־לֶחֶם (Beṯ-leḥem) | house of bread |
Popularity
Belen ranked #785 for girls in the United States in 2025. The figure comes from the Social Security Administration's national file for that year.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | #785 | ssa-2025 |
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Belen mean?
Belén is the Spanish name for Bethlehem, which Behind the Name derives from Hebrew meaning "house of bread".
Is Belen a popular name?
Belen ranked #785 for girls in the United States in 2025. (Social Security Administration data).
Is Belen a boy's or a girl's name?
In the 2025 SSA data Belen appears in the girls' list.
Sources
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity, gender usage.
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Belén — supports meaning, Spanish usage, Hebrew root.
- Wiktionary: Belen — Wiktionary, the free dictionary — supports Belen as a borrowing of Spanish Belén.
