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[ 4 syll. e-li-za-bet(h), el-izabe-th ] The girl name Elizabeth is pronounced IHLIHZahBahTH †. 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 from el which means 'God, powerful' ; sheba which means 'oath, seven'. The name is derived via Elisabet (Old Greek) and Elisabetha (Latin) from Elisheba (Hebrew). The element sheba ('oath, seven') alludes to perfection, and the number seven is a biblical symbol of God's perfect work of creating the world in seven days. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Elisheba was the wife of Aaron, while in the New Testament, Elisabeth was the mother of John the Baptist and the first to realize that her cousin Mary was to bear Jesus Christ. Saint Elisabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) was the daughter of King Andrew II who gave her wealth to the poor and became a model of Christian charity. As a result of the biblical mention, the name was popular in medieval times, especially in Eastern Europe where it would sometimes be bestowed in honor of the saint. The name became popular in England only in the 16th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), who was named after her grandmother Elizabeth of York, and had the nickname 'Good Queen Bess'. Due to the fame of the queen, the name Elizabeth became more popular than the older form Elisabeth. By the 17th century, one in four baby girls in England were given the name Elizabeth. In the 20th century, the name was again popularized by royal associations when Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002) became the Queen Consort of King George VI, and more so when her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II (1926-). The name Elizabeth is used to a great extent; it has 231 variations that are used in both English and foreign languages. English variations include Belicia (used in Spanish as well), Belita (used in Spanish as well), Bella (used in German, Italian, Scottish, Spanish, Hungarian, and Russian as well), Bessi, Betsi, Bett, Betta (used in Italian as well), Bitsy, Eleisa, Eliesse, Elis (used in German as well), Elisa (used in Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish as well), Elizabet, Elizabiff, Elizbeth, Ellissa, Elly (used in Dutch as well), Ellyse, Elsabeth, Elsi (used in German as well), Elysia, Elyzabeth, Elzabeth, Etti (used in Estonian as well), Etty (used in Estonian as well), Isa (used in Spanish, German, Dutch, and Italian as well), Isabel (used in Portuguese, Provençal, Spanish, French, and German as well), Isabelita (used in Spanish as well), Isabella (used in Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Romanian, and Scandinavian as well), Isobel (used in Scottish as well), Libbi, Lillian, Lilly, Lisabet, Lisabeth, Lisabette, Lisanne (used in Dutch as well), Lisbeth (used in German as well), Lissette, Lizabeth, Lizanne, Lizveth, Lizzi, Lysbeth, Lyzbeth, Lyzette, Sissi (used in German as well), Sissy (used in German as well), Zabe, and Zibby. Other English forms include the short forms Bess (used in Hebrew as well), Bet, Beth, Elise (used in Dutch, French, German, and Scandinavian as well), Eliz, Eliza (used in Polish as well), Elsa (used in Finnish, German, Scandinavian, and Scottish as well), Else (used in German, and Scandinavian as well), Elspeth (used in Scottish as well), Lisa (used in Albanian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Scandinavian as well), Lisbet, Lise (used in French, German, and Scandinavian as well), Liz, Liza (used in Hungarian, Polish, and Russian as well), Lizbeth, and Lizeth (used in French as well), the pet forms Bessie, Bessy, Bethie, Bethy, Betsey, Betsy, Bette (used in French as well), Bettie, Bettina (used in German, Italian, and Spanish as well), Betty, Bettye, Biff, Biffy, Bit, Buffy, Elissa, Elize, Elle, Ellie, Elsie (used in Scottish as well), Elsy, Elyse, Elyssa, Leasa, Leeza, Leisa, Leisel, Libbie, Libby (used in Hebrew as well), Lilibet, Lilibeth, Lisbett, Lisel, Lisl, Lissie, Lissy, Lizbet, Lizbett, Lizbiff, Lizette (used in French as well), Lizy, Lizz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Lyssi, Tetty, and Veta, and the spelling variants Elisabeth (used in Dutch, French, German, Greek, and Scandinavian as well), Elisabethe, Eliszabeth (used in German as well), Elizabith, and Elizebeth. Variations of Elizabeth used in foreign languages include the name Alizabeth, the Czech Alzbeta, the Czech Betka, the Welsh Betsan, the name Bettey, the Estonian, German, and Russian Betti, the Czech Betuska, the Hungarian Boski, the Hungarian Bozsi, the Spanish Chabica, the Spanish Chavelle, the Spanish Chela, the Scottish Ealasaid, the Manx Ealisaid, the Irish Eilis, the Irish Eilish, the Irish Eilís, the Irish Eillish, the Estonian Eliisabet, the Hawaiian Elikapeka, the Estonian, Finnish, German, and Scandinavian Elisabet, the Romanian Elisabeta, the Portuguese Elisabete, the German Elisabetha, the Italian Elisabetta, the Greek Elisavet, the Slavic Elisaveta, the name Elisheba, the Hebrew Elisheva, the Georgian Eliso, the Slavic Elisveta, the Basque Elixabete, the Slavic Elizabeta, the Latvian Elizabete, the Russian Elizaveta, the Polish Elka, the name Ellisa, the name Ellyssa, the Dutch Els, the Russian Elsavetta, the Estonian Elsbet, the German Elsbeth, the Polish Elsbietka, the German Elschen, the name Elsee, the Scottish Elspie, the Estonian Elts, the name Elysabeth, the name Elyza, the Lithuanian and Polish Elzbieta, the Polish Elzunia, the Hungarian Erzsebet, the Hungarian Erzsébet, the French Esabeau, the French Élisabeth, the Spanish Issa, the Spanish, Dutch, and Polish Iza, the Portuguese, Spanish, Hungarian, and Polish Izabel, the Spanish, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian Izabela, the Spanish, Hungarian, and Polish Izabella, the Slavic Jelisaveta, the Dutch and German Lies, the Dutch and German Liesbeth, the German Lieschen, the Estonian and Finnish Liisa, the Estonian Liisi, the Dutch Lijsbeth, the Latvian Lisbete, the Russian Lisenka, the Spanish Liseta, the Italian Lisettina, the Scandinavian Liska, the Hungarian Liszka, the Russian Lizanka, the Russian Lizka, the Finnish Lusa, the French Lysette, the name Lyssie, the Spanish and Galician Sabela, the Russian Yelisabeta, the Russian Yelisaveta, the Russian Yelizaveta, the Spanish Ysabel, the Spanish Yza, the Spanish Yzabel, the Spanish Yzabela, and the Hungarian Zizi. Specific foreign variants include the short forms Ela (Polish), Elspet (Scottish), Élise (French), Ilse (Dutch and German), Liesa (German), Liese (Dutch and German), Liesl (German), Lis (Scandinavian), and Lys (German and Scandinavian), and the pet forms Babette (French), Beta (Czech), Bethan (Welsh), Betina (German and Italian), Bizzy (Hawaiian), Elisah (Dutch), Eliska (Czech), Elli (German), Ilsa (German), Leizel (German), Liesel (German), Liesje (Dutch), Lili (German), Lilli (German), Lisette (French and German), Litzy (Scandinavian and Spanish), and Lyse (Scandinavian). See also the related forms, the French Isaline and the English, French, and German 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 currently used on a moderate scale. In 2008, it ranked at #9 with a usage of 0.575%, but it was nevertheless the 2nd most popular after Isabella, out of all girl names in its group. It was used 56% more than Elizabeth in 2008. 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. Details of famous persons named Elizabeth:
† 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)"   |
