The English and Scottish surname Bettes is a patronymic or metronymic name, derived from the medieval personal name Bett, a short form of Bartholomew, Beatrice, or Elizabeth. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Terri Bette, which was dated circa 1154, in the "History of St. Bartholomew's Hospital", London. The name is first recorded in the New World in 1849 when John Bettis is recorded in San Francisco. Today there are approximately 700 bearers of the name Bettes living in the US.