Elizabeth

What Elizabeth means

Means “my God is an oath”

From Middle English Elizabeth, from the Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of the Old Testament Biblical Hebrew אלישבע (ʔĕlîšeḇaʕ, “my God is an oath”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Elizabeth” (revision 94539074), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Elizabeth?

US: Falling: down from #13 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #39 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1880, when 1,939 girls got the name (#4 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 238 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 406 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 471 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (18.5 per 1,000 girls), DC (10.9 per 1,000 girls), MT (9.56 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Elizabeth is #17 in the US and #74 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Elizabeth were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Elisabeth282 US · 33 E&W
• Alizabeth22 US
• Elyzabeth8 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Elisabeth

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

Nicknames

• Bess
• Bessie
• Bessy
• Bet
• Beth
• Betsy
• Bettie
• Betty
• Biz
• Buffy
• Elisabet
• Elisabeth

Listed on Wiktionary under “variations and nicknames”.

If you like Elizabeth

Girls

• Jessica#665possibly “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe…^*
• Michelle#465Feminine form of Michel, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Jamie#857Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 12,895 babies; 316 in 2025
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Sarah#90“masters, princes”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*

For a brother

• Matthew#32“gift of the Lord”^*
• Michael#21“who is like God?”^*
• Joseph#29“(God) shall add”^*
• David#35“beloved”^*
• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*
• Joe#991Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1936, with 8,023 babies; 230 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Elizabeth’s. Rank is US 2025.