Elizabeth - Origin and Meaning of the name

The girl name Elizabeth [ 4 syll. e-li-za-bet(h), el-izabe-th ] is pronounced IHLIHZahBahTH ^KEY. Elizabeth has its origins in the Hebrew language and it is used largely in English. Elizabeth's meaning is 'God is perfection, God is my oath'. Biblical name derived from el which means 'God, powerful' ; sheba which means 'oath, seven'. An old form of the name is the Hebrew Elisheba. The element 'sheba' alludes to perfection, as the number seven is symbolic of perfection. The name was borne by the mother of John the Baptist in the Bible. As a result of the biblical appearance, the name was popular among medieval English speakers. In the 16th century, the name was often bestowed in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603); approximately one in five baby girls were given the name in 1600. Its popularity was given another boost by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), who married King George VI and became Queen Elizabeth in 1936, and thereafter by her famous daughter, Queen Elizabeth II (1926-).

The name Elizabeth is used to a great extent; it has 47 variations that are used in both English and foreign languages. English variations of Elizabeth include Elisabeth (used in French, German, and Greek as well), Elsa (used in German and Scandinavian as well), Lilly, Lisa (used in Albanian, Dutch, French, German, and Italian as well), and Sissy (used in German as well). Other English variants include the short forms Beth, Elissa, Elyssa, Liz, Liza, and Lizbeth, and the pet forms Bessie, Bessy, Betsy, Betty, Eliza, Elsie, Libby, Lissy, Lizeth, Lizette, Lizzie, and Lizzy.

Variations of Elizabeth used in foreign languages include the German and Italian Betina, the German and Italian Bettina, the Scottish Ealasaid, the German Elisa, the Scandinavian Elisabet, the German Elisabetha, the Italian Elisabetta, the German Elise, the German Elsbeth, the German Else, the German Ilse, the German Liesa, the Dutch and German Liesbeth, the German Liese, the German Liesel, the German Lili, the German Lilli, the German Lisbeth, the French and German Lise, the French Lisette, and the German Sissi. The short forms Lis (Scandinavian) and Lys (Scandinavian), and the pet form Bethan (Welsh) are other foreign variants.

See also the related forms, the German, Italian, and Spanish Isabella and the English Lilian.

Elizabeth is very popular as a baby name for girls. At the peak of its usage in 1912, 1.454% of baby girls were named Elizabeth. It ranked at #8 then. The baby name has since dropped in popularity, and is of moderate use in recent times. In 2007, it ranked at #10 with a usage of 0.616%, but it was nevertheless the 2nd most popular after the German, Italian, and Spanish Isabella, out of all girl names in its group. It was used 47% more than Elizabeth in 2007. The name Elizabeth has mostly been a girl name, although it has also been given to boys in the past century. In 1989, the name Elizabeth was given to 154 times more girls than boys.

^KEY: Pronunciation for Elizabeth: IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; Z as in "zee (Z.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; B as in "be (B.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; TH as in "theta (TH.EY.T.AH)"

Details of famous persons named Elizabeth:
Actress Betty Grable, born Elizabeth Ruth Grable, 18 December 1916 - 2 July 1973, St. Louis, Missouri.
Actress Elizabeth Hurley, born 10 June 1965, Hampshire, England.
Actress Betty Hutton, born Elizabeth Thornburg, 26 February 1921 - 11 March 2007, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Actress T�a Leoni, born Elizabeth T�a Pantaleoni, 25 February 1966, New York, New York.
Actress Elizabeth (Liz) Taylor, born 27 February 1932, London, England.
Journalist Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, 5 May 1864 - 27 January 1922, Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania.
Physician Elizabeth Blackwell, born 3 February 1821 - 31 May 1910, Bristol, England.
Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, born Elizabeth Barrett, 6 March 1806 - 29 June 1861, Durham, England.
Political Figure Elizabeth Dole, born 29 July 1936, Salisbury, North Carolina.
Revolutionary War Figure Betsy Ross, born Elizabeth Griscom, 1 January 1752 - 30 January 1836, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Popularity Trend
for Elizabeth
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Elizabeth
in 2007