Bettis
A surname that probably began as a short form of Bett, Betts, or Betty, ultimately from a medieval pet name for Elizabeth or Beatrice.
The #5,829 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,056 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bettis is most likely an English surname formed from a personal name such as Bett, Betts, or Betty, with the final -s often indicating “son of” or “belonging to.” Those personal names were medieval pet forms, commonly linked to female given names like Elizabeth or Beatrice. The sources you provided do not support a secure single derivation beyond that broader family of names, so this should be treated as a probable rather than certain explanation.
History
The surname appears in English records by the late 16th and 17th centuries, including forms such as Bettis and Bettys. It sits among a wider group of surnames built from short pet names like Bett, Betts, Bettie, and Bettinson, which are especially common in southern and midland English records. Similar spellings can reflect local pronunciation as well as shifting clerical spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname studies, Bettis is sometimes grouped with a whole cluster of “Bett-” names rather than treated as a completely separate family name.
From the historical record
“John Bettin4 Reg. St. Columb Major, p. 5. 1690. William Bettis and Catherintt Groves: Marriage Alleg. (Canteri>ary), p. I .so. 1697. Bnried- Katherine Bettys: Can- terbury Cntli., p. 30.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)