Are there any boy names for Elizabeth?
The classic name Elizabeth dates back to the New Testament. It’s an enduring classic, worn by saints and queens and women of accomplishment across the centuries. A form of Elizabeth appears in nearly every European language; even more, if the related Isabel and Isabella are considered.
Plenty of expectant parents would like to honor a beloved Elizabeth with their child’s name. And if it’s a baby girl, the options are endless, from nicknames like Betty and Beth to international variants like Elisabetta.
Think of a traditional male name and it probably has an equally familiar feminine equivalent: George and Georgia, John and Jane (or Joanna or Joan or any of these choices), Joseph and Josephine. Even William and Willa, Willow, and Billie. Some of those girl names are far more popular than their masculine counterparts, while the opposite is true for others. But when we’re asked to come up with a feminine form of Luke, or a masculine equivalent to Julia, we know the answer.
But that’s not always the case. And Elizabeth, in particular, is hard to make work for a son.
There are a few options that have potential. If you’re looking for boy names for Elizabeth, this is the list of names to consider.
EL- NAMES
Elizabeth’s El refers to God in Hebrew. Plenty of El- names could honor a loved one.
ELI (#69)
An Old Testament name, Eli boasts 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.
ELIAM (#672)
It sounds like an Eli/Liam mash-up, but Eliam is a Hebrew name meaning “God’s people.”
ELIAN (#300)
Another El- name, likely related to Elijah, but also potentially to Elizabeth.
ELIAS (#43)
Elias is simply the Greek form of Elijah, but slightly less common than the Top Ten favorite. If Elijah brings to mind Eliza, then Elias is closer to the elegant, restrained Elise.
ELIEL (#810)
Old Testament rarity with the right letters and sound.
ELIJAH (#5)
Another Old Testament name, Elijah means “my God is Yahweh.” It’s quite current today, a Top 20 favorite since 2010. It might be the closest name to Elizabeth in many ways – the length, the shared first syllable, even the meaning. It also sounds similar to Elizabeth short form Eliza.
ELIO (#877)
It looks like an Elijah/Elias cousin, but Elio is an Italian name related to the Green sun god, Helios.
A LAST NAME BEGINNING WITH EL
ELLIS (#307)
This surname name is fairly popular for boys, though 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 makes it an obvious choice on the boy names for Elizabeth list.
ELLIOT, ELLIOTT (#150; #168 for boys)
Elliot – and Elliott – are related to Elias. The surnames have plenty of history as given names, and almost feel like traditional firsts.
ELLISON (unranked)
Take Ellis and add ‘son’ and you’ll have yet another surname option. It’s more popular for girls than boys at the moment, though it’s pretty uncommon for all children. With names like twentieth century staple Allison and current favorite Emerson in use, Ellison fits right in.
NAMES WITH SHARED MEANINGS
Elizabeth means “my God is an oath.” Meanings like pledge, oath, and vow could come close enough to be boy names for Elizabeth.
GAGE (#649)
A modern possibility, it can mean to measure or to pledge.
GILBERT (unranked)
Gilbert comes from Germanic elements. The first, gisil, means pledge. The second, beraht, means bright.
HOMER (unranked)
A little bit classical poet, a little bit Simpsons, Homer means pledge in Greek.
NAMES THAT REFERENCE A FAMOUS ELIZABETH
This takes some truly creative thinking, but for the right family, it could be an option.
BENNETT (#83)
Inspired by Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice, Bennett shares the nickname Ben with the even more popular Benjamin.
STANTON (unranked)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton puts this name on the list.
TAYLOR (#621)
As in Hollywood legend Liz Taylor.
MORE WAYS TO HONOR A LOVED ONE WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME
There are plenty of creative ways to honor a loved one with your child’s name.
Maybe your beloved Elizabeth’s surname or middle name could be options. A nickname or something you associate strongly with her might provide inspiration, too.
But if sound and meaning are your priorities, Elijah, Elian, and Elias – while not exactly masculine equivalents of Elizabeth – feel like the strongest choices.
Are there other boy names for Elizabeth to consider?
My 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.
Eliseo 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
My previous comment was in response to Sargjo. [Not sure why it showed up as a separate thread.]
And 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//
I 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!
So 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!
I’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.
Perhaps 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.
To 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.
I 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.
There is also Elisha & Eliezer
My 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!
I’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?