Jean de Béthencourt was a Norman explorer who, in 1402, led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote. From there, he conquered Fuerteventura and Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands but recognized King Henry III of Castile, who had provided aid during the conquest, as his overlord.

To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among Canarians and people of Canarian descent. Examples include former Colombian president Belisario Betancur and former Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt. Other modern notables in recent news are Venezuelan baseball player Rafael Betancourt and Colombian activist/politician Ingrid Betancourt.

The city of Betancuria is named after Béthencourt.