Bethany, city, Oklahoma County, central Oklahoma; incorporated 1930. It is a commercial center adjoining Oklahoma City. Aircraft are manufactured here. The city is home to Bethany Nazarene College (1899), and Tinker Air Force Base is nearby. The community was settled in 1889 by members of the Nazarene Church, who named it for the biblical village of Bethany. The community was laid out in 1909. Population 22,130 (1980); 20,075 (1990); 20,307 (2000).
