Elisabeth
Meaning
variant of Elizabeth, traditionally translated as 'God is my oath'
The story
Elisabeth with an s is the continental spelling of Elizabeth, the Hebrew name meaning God is my oath, the form worn in French, German, Dutch, and Scandinavian royal lines. Its most haunting bearer was Empress Elisabeth of Austria, called Sisi, the restless beauty who married Emperor Franz Joseph at sixteen, chafed against the rigid Vienna court, wandered Europe writing melancholy poetry, and was assassinated in Geneva in 1898; her story has been retold on screen so often that she remains the most famous face of the Habsburgs. Queens consort across Europe have long carried the spelling. In American records Elisabeth is a small marvel of steadiness, holding nearly the same modest level decade after decade for well over a century, never spiking and never fading: the quiet sister of a giant name, for parents who want the classic with one soft continental turn.
Elisabeth around the world
One shared root links 26 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Elisheva "God is my oath"; medieval Iberia split off Isabel, and the nursery split off nearly everything else
The constellation
20 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Elisabeth peaked in the 1980s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
25,433 people · the #911 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 8,000 · median age 57
Among people named Elisabeth living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 287 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Elisabeth
People given the name Elisabeth in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1970 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Elisabeth deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Elisabeth truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Elisabeth fits with your family’s names and surname.
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