It's about how people perceive Betty. In the first ever episdoe when she turns up to work at Mode, I'm not gonna lie, she wasn't exactly gorgeous... and because it was a fashion magazine, people judged her and automatically thought she was ugly.
But as the seasons go on and people get to know her, they find that she's actually a really beautiful person inside. And once that's happend she starts to become Mehr fashionable, and Von the end, she's really actually beautiful.
The actress America Farrera is really pretty in real life, but once Du give her bangs, frazzled hair, glasses and adult braces, she's not looking her best.
Basically, it's called Ugly Betty, because at first glance, some people might call her ugly, before they got to know her.
i think it's because of the postion she is in and how the people around her see her. when your in a place like mode where Du have to be a jerk and super skinny and rich, then add someone thats happy and not skinny it make's Du seem ugly, also she has a out there style, not so trendy style, and she see's everyone as beautiful in some way.
Seeing as America is filled with the ugliest people on the planet with disgusting make up all over their face like a clown and horrendous fashion sense, it was considered funny to have a pretty girl referred to as "ugly". It has something to do with irony (they are just not that good at it unfortunately). It is supposed to represent the way in which America desperately tries to cover up its ugliness Von making sure that only generically "attractive" looking actors/ Schauspielerinnen become successful. That fails so they end up giving all the best roles to British actors who become successful due to their Schauspielen ability. This is the reason why British actors are not generically attractive and actually look interesting. Somehow Robert De Niro and Robin Williams seemed to escape the "ugliness" police!
Oh dear, I seem to have a tongue stuck in my cheek...
