Elizabeth
Masculine · “my God is an oath”
Elizabeth is given to girls far more often — 1,688,757 girls against 5,216 boys since 1880. See Elizabeth as a girl name
Hebrew sheva means both an oath and the number seven, and the two are the same idea: oaths were sworn by sevens. Abraham seals one by handing over seven ewe lambs at a well, and the place is called Beersheba — the well of the oath, or the well of seven, and the text will not choose.
How old is the name Elizabeth?
Elizabeth was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Elizabeth alive today was born around 1964, making them about 61 years old. About 3,300 people named Elizabeth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Elizabeth most popular?
Elizabeth peaked in 1902, reaching #460 nationally. Today it ranks #12008, 11,548 places below that high. See the whole 1902 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Elisheva to Elizabeth
The story of Elizabeth
Elisheva is Aaron's wife in Exodus, named in a single verse. The name reappears in Luke as the mother of John the Baptist, an old woman told she will have a child, and the scene where Mary visits her is one of the few in the Gospels where two women talk to each other. From there it went into every European language and did something almost no other name has done: it has been in continuous heavy use in English for four hundred years without ever having a peak decade. Most names rise, crest and fall, and their bearers can be dated by them. This one has simply never been unfashionable, which is the rarest thing a name can achieve.
Meaningscholars disagree
my God is an oath
Hebrew Elisheva: el, God, with sheva. Because the word means both an oath and seven, the name is read as my God is an oath and, less often, as my God is abundance. The Beersheba story shows the ambiguity working in the text itself rather than only in the dictionary.
How the name formed
- Elisheva
- Elisabet
- Elizabeth
Related forms: Elisheva · Isabel · Elisabetta · Elizaveta · Erzsebet · Eilis
Pronouncing Elizabeth
ih-LIZ-uh-beth
Four syllables, stress on the second. The th at the end is a sound most of the world's languages do not have, which is why every other European version of the name changed it.
Nicknames for Elizabeth
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1985105 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #460reached in 1902
- Change vs 2021
- 0.0%5 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Elizabeth in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Elisheva in Hebrew — same name
- Isabel in Spanish — same name
- Elisabetta in Italian — same name
- Elizaveta in Russian — same name
- Erzsebet in Hungarian — same name
- Eilis in Irish — same name
Elizabeths among us
people named Elizabeth are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 341,615 born in 2025 was named Elizabeth
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Elizabeth sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Elizabeth beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Elizabeth in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- More short forms than any other name in English, at every possible register.
- Recognized in every European language, usually without translation.
- A documented Hebrew meaning and continuous use for more than two thousand years.
- It has never been out of use and never been a fashion, so it dates nobody.
- It is one of the most given names in the English-speaking world and always has been.
- The short forms are so numerous that a child may end up called several things at once.
- It is nine letters and four syllables on every form she will ever fill in.
- The very few boys given this spelling will be read as girls on paper.
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What they receive
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Elizabeth
Masculine · #12008 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Elizabeths are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Elizabeth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Elizabeth in 2025?
- Elizabeth ranks #12008 among US boy names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Elizabeth?
- About 1 in every 341,615 US boys born in 2025 was named Elizabeth — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Elizabeth with classmates?
- Elizabeth will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Elizabeth
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Garfield#12008 · Chas#12008 · Lew#12008 · Barney#12008 · Dewitt#12008 · Granville#12008 · Cicero#12008 · Willam#12008
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Elizabeth? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Elizabeth and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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