Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.
We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!
Ali writes:
We lost my mom just a few weeks before I found out I was pregnant. This would be her first grandchild. My husband agreed that if it was a girl, we’d name her Elizabeth, after mom.
Except it’s a boy.
Which is completely great!
But I still want to name my son after my mom. Others have said we should save Elizabeth for a girl, but that feels like it’s missing the point, if that makes sense.
Is there a boy version of Elizabeth?
Please read on for my response, and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Dear Ali –
I’m so sorry for your loss! And I think it makes all the sense in the world that you want to name this baby, at this time, after your mother. It’s more than an honor name. It’s about a moment in your life as a family, and a way to connect your son to his grandmother.
And yet, it’s not easy to find a masculine version of Elizabeth. The majority of names with history tend to offer both masculine and feminine forms, even if some are fairly obscure. But Elizabeth? I hate to admit it, but there’s nothing.
Or is there? Elizabeth’s El refers to God in Hebrew. The name means God is my oath. Dozens of other names share that first element.
That makes me think that many El- names for boys would work beautifully:
Eli – An Old Testament name, but with a slightly different origin. It’s Hebrew, but means ascension. While Eli isn’t a masculine form of Elizabeth, it shares the first three letters, which seems quite close. It currently ranks #54.
Elijah – Another Old Testament name, Elijah means “my God is Yahweh.” It’s quite current today, a Top 20 favorite since 2010. I think it might be the closest name to Elizabeth in many ways – the length, the shared first syllable, even the meaning.
Elias – Elias is simply the Greek form of Elijah, but slightly less common, at #78.
Or maybe something that feels less Biblical, and more modern? Though all three of these are related to Elijah.
Ellis – At #312, Ellis is fairly popular for boys, but not nearly as common as the first three names. In many cases, it started out as a surname derived from Elijah. It sounds like the first two syllables of Elizabeth, which puts it near the top of my list.
Ellison – Take Ellis and add ‘son’ and you’ll have yet another surname option. It’s more popular for girls than boys at the moment. (In 2017, 268 girls were named Ellison, versus 101 boys.) Still, I think it works well for a son.
Elliot/Elliott – Yet another surname related to Elijah and friends, Elliott with two ‘t’s is almost exactly as popular as Elliot with one. It’s a very current choice, and I think it honors an Elizabeth nicely.
Those are the obvious choices, based on a mix of sound and origin.
I looked for names that share Elizabeth’s meaning – words like pledge, oath, and vow. I found just a few:
Gage – A modern favorite, it can mean to measure or to pledge.
Gilbert – Gilbert comes from Germanic elements. The first, gisil, means pledge. The second, beraht, means bright.
Homer – Homer means pledge in Greek.
These feel like more of a stretch, I think.
Speaking of stretching, is there another way to name a son after your mom? Her surname or middle name could be options. A nickname or something you associate strongly with her might provide inspiration, too.
Overall, I keep coming back to Ellis. It shares a name element with Elizabeth, and it sounds like the first two syllables of the name. That makes it a clear honor name, while still masculine.
Readers, what have I missed? Are there other masculine spins on Elizabeth Ali should consider?
Kit Hohn says
April 28, 2019 at 5:05 PMThere’s also the medieval French Isabeau/Ysabeau variant of Elizabeth, which could be shortened to Beau.
Panya says
July 24, 2018 at 1:12 PMOoh, yes. I usually ignore Mac-/Mc- names as suggestions because I’m very pedantic about the “son” meaning being literal, but in this case it works perfectly!
Panya says
July 24, 2018 at 1:14 PMOf course, this reply was in response to FE’s suggestion of MacBeth. //sigh// I don’t know why this keeps happening.
FE says
July 24, 2018 at 8:15 AMJust came across Macbeth in a baby name book and thought of you. Might be a bit bold as a first name but ‘son of Beth’ seemed amazingly meaningful in this situation and what a cool middle name to have! Couldn’t help but come and put it out there for you as another possibility to honour your Mum.
namenculture says
July 9, 2018 at 11:48 AMBlaize is an anagram of Elizabeth minus the final three letters.
Heather says
July 8, 2018 at 1:02 AMMy first thought was Ezra… shares similar sounds with Elizabeth!
Panya says
July 7, 2018 at 10:41 PMMy first choice for you would be Ellison. It is based on Elijah, but Elijah and Elizabeth share the same Eli- root.
And there are dozens of names which share that root, so you really could choose any of those.
My second choice for you would be Elius. It’s a masculine form of the female Scandinavian name Eli, when Eli is used as a short form of Elisabet/Elizabeth.
Some coined and rarely-used masculine forms:
Elisabetto, Elizabetto, Elisabeto, Elizabeto, Isabello, Izabello, Lilliano, Ysabello, Yzabello, Alzbeto, Belinho, Bellino, Bettino, Isabelo, Izabelo, Liliano, Sabello, Ysabelo, Yzabelo, Zabello, Belino, Sabelo, Zabelo, Babet, Bello, Besso, Betto, Bozso, Eliso, Erzso, Liano, Liset, Lizet, Lyset, Lyzet, Sabel, Vetto, Zabel, Belo, Beto, Elio, Ello, Elso, Elzo, Ibbo, Ilso, Ilzo, Izzo, Lilo, Liso, Lizo, Lyso, Lyzo, Veto, etc.
Panya says
July 7, 2018 at 10:37 PMEliseo is a good choice, but it’s not directly related to Elisheba/Elizabeth…
Eliseo –> Eliseus (ELISEVS) –> Elisaie (Ελισαιε) –> Elisha (אֱלִישַׁע) –> Elishua (אֱלִישׁוּעַ) –> el (אֵל) [God] + yasha (יָשַׁע) [to deliver, save]
Elizabeth –> Elisabeth –> Elisabet (Ελισαβετ) –> Elisheba / Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע) –> el (אֵל) [God] + shava (שָׁבַע) [seven (referring to seven being a sacred number, thus people would swear on it, giving their oath)]
🙂
I ditto the suggestion of the partial anagrams, which are a hobby of mine. My current list of masculine names you can spell using the letters of Elizabeth:
Bailee, Bathel, Bethel, Blazhe, Hailee, Zibalt, Abele, Abiel, Albie, Athel, Balti, Batel, Bazil, Beltz, Betel, Bital, Blaze, Blazh, Bleiz, Eliaz, Elith, Ethel, Etzel, Halee, Halie, Halit, Hazel, Heath, Hebel, Helie, Heliz, Helte, Ithel, Itzal, Laith, Leith, Thile, Abel, Aeli, Aeti, Ahti, Aihe, Albe, Alte, Atel, Atle, Atli, Azel, Bahl, Bate, Beat, Bela, Bele, Beli, Biel, Bile, Blaz, Blez, Eela, Eeli, Eeti, Eiel, Elah, Elbe, Elia, Elie, Elit, Etel, Hale, Hati, Haze, Heli, Ihab, Iheb, Lehi, Lieb, Tale, Tali, Teal, Thai, Thei, Tile, Zahi, Zeth, Ziba
Panya says
July 7, 2018 at 10:38 PMMy previous comment was in response to Sargjo. [Not sure why it showed up as a separate thread.]
Panya says
July 8, 2018 at 3:03 PMAnd of course, Heath shouldn’t be on that list, as Elizabeth only has one /H/ — I got excited when I thought it could work, but forgot to take it back off the list when I realised. //facepalm//
appellationmountain says
July 8, 2018 at 4:00 PMI don’t know … I think it *could* work. Though the only kid Heath I’ve ever met was named for his mom, Heather. Always thought that was brilliant!
onomastodon says
July 7, 2018 at 10:18 AMSo sorry for your loss.
Eli and Elias are wonderful suggestions, as is the idea of using her surname or a variant of her middle.
I thought I might suggest a few more ideas. Some of these might be a bit out there, depending on your style.
There are a few surnames which seem to have originated as forms of Elizabeth or the variant form Isabel (at least some of the time – the histories of some are a bit complicated). I wonder whether one of those might suit?:
Ibbot, Ibbott
Ibbetson, Ibbotson
Ebbetts
Ibson
Isbill
Bell, Bel
Betson
Bett, Betts
These forms of Elizabeth are traditionally feminine, but might sound masculine enough in America, especially as middle names:
Elian – this is a unisex name that can be a variant of names starting with Eli- (like Elizabeth), or a smoosh of Elizabeth and another name (e.g. Juan), among other meanings.
Zabet
Zabel
Eliso
Elbie
Erzsi
Lisen
These names are not etymologically related to Elizabeth (as far as I know), but they incorporate sounds from her name:
Elizondo
Elio
Good luck, and congratulations!
Charmaine says
July 7, 2018 at 1:40 AMI’m sorry for your loss, and congrats on your baby. My brother was named after our grandfather who had died when our mom was a kid. We all loved the fact he was named after him.
I remember that there was a prophet named Elisha in the Bible. Now, being deaf I don’t know if it sounds similar to Elizabeth, but thought I’d put it out there.
Ashleigh says
July 6, 2018 at 9:53 PMPerhaps you could give your son a first and middle name that shares her initials. That might take some of the pressure off finding an honor name that sounds like Elizabeth.
Melyssa says
July 6, 2018 at 7:31 PMTo honor my mom, whose name was Geraldine, nn Gerry, my sister gave her son the middle name Dean. My mom made us promise we would not name our kids geraldine or Gerry as she never liked her name. When I was pregnant, i thought i would name my daughter Charlotte bc my mom loved the story, Charlotte’s Web. I was stumped when the baby was a boy bc Dean was already taken. And then i realized, her all time favorite movie was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so my son is named Charles and called Charlie. It’s an obscure reference but it is meaningful to me and I know my mom would have appreciated it too.
Brittany Harte says
July 6, 2018 at 4:43 PMI keep thinking about the “Z” of the name Elizabeth. It mad me think of the name Zeb. There are longer names to go with it, but as a honor name I think I like just the 3 letters.
Carly says
July 6, 2018 at 4:24 PMThere is also Elisha & Eliezer
L. says
July 6, 2018 at 4:14 PMMy father-in-law died during my pregnancy with a girl, and we gave her his middle name (a very old fashioned male name that is also sometimes a surname). I think a feminine first with masculine middle for a girl is an easier fit than a masculine first with a feminine middle for a boy, though. So my vote is for Elijah. My condolences for your mother and congrats on your upcoming baby!
April says
July 6, 2018 at 3:03 PMI’m so very sorry for your loss!
I lost my mom before I had children and when I had a girl I knew I wanted to honor my mom without using her name so I thought about her interests. My mom was obsessed with the night sky so my daughters middle name is Celeste. I wanted first but hubs wasn’t onboard. Anyway, it brings me so much joy any time I say/think it. Maybe there is something similar that would work for you?
Andrea says
July 6, 2018 at 1:44 PMBeton. It’s a surname with multiple meanings, but could conceivably mean son of Elizabeth.
Crysta says
July 6, 2018 at 1:19 PMAlso Arlen is a Gaelic name that means “oath, pledge.”
Eli Arlen
Elija Arlen
Elias Arlen
Crysta says
July 6, 2018 at 1:14 PMYou could use the middle spot to make it even closer:
Ellis Abbot
Elias Abbot
Eli Abbot
or even Albert?
Renée says
July 6, 2018 at 12:39 PMBennett-If you or your mother is a Jane Austen or literature fan, I’d suggest Bennett. Elizabeth Bennett is the main character in Pride and Prejudice. 🙂 I know not everyone would see the connection right away, but I think it’s a great literary tie.
Abby’s suggestions of Eli/Elijah/Ellis are all great if you’re looking for something that sounds more like Elizabeth. 🙂
Congrats on your baby boy!!
Erin Beth says
July 6, 2018 at 11:39 AMI quite like the suggestions Elias and Eli. They strike me very plausible to honor an Elizabeth.
K. says
July 6, 2018 at 11:36 AMYou could also use Eleazar! I think Lysander or Seth could work too pulling the -Liza- and -zabeth- sounds out of Elizabeth.
Em says
July 6, 2018 at 11:16 AMElizabeth in the Old Testament was mother to John the Baptist. This might be a stretch, but you could use a form of John since this baby would be a descendent of an Elizabeth.
Renée says
July 6, 2018 at 11:00 AMI love Elias for you, as it matches the sound of Elizabeth most closely in the masculine form. Ellis and Ellison are good too, but Ellis is all girl in my area (which admittedly has an abundance of ‘boy’ names on girl’s.)
Elliott is a perfect choice if you feel comfortable with the El-names being honour enough. if so, I’ll also suggest Elwood and Elroy (which I think fit in these days if you’re more daring) or even Elm. If you’re putting the honour in the middle name, Elm would be wonderful.
Good luck and sorry for your loss.
Sargjo says
July 6, 2018 at 10:48 AMA few other thoughts: Eliseo is the male Italian/Spanish variant of Elisheba, which is the Hebrew root of Elizabeth. I think it’s dashing!
It shouldn’t be daring, but you could give him Elizabeth as a middle name. If Blake Lively uses James for her daughter and there are girls named Michael, why not?
You could use a partial anagram of Elizabeth to use something like Blaze or Albie if those names are more to your taste. Some people might not think anagrams are honorific enough, but anagrams are very cool and a fun name story for your son.
Laura says
July 6, 2018 at 9:58 AMMy great-great grandfather was Elias and he named his daughter (my great-grandmother) Elizabeth and she named her son (my grandfather) Elias. It certainly seems like they saw the connection between Elizabeth and Elias.
Bethany says
July 7, 2018 at 11:52 PMI would love to combine a few of these suggestions, Elias Bennet sounds very handsome. And looking at the name, it looks very close to Elizabeth. Very sorry for your loss.