The Best Nicknames for Elizabeth

Elizabeth nicknames range from the automatic Lizzie to the unexpected Birdie and Bess.

With so many centuries of use behind it, classic Elizabeth has developed dozens of short forms, across multiple languages. That makes it among the most evergreen of baby girl names, but also surprisingly versatile.

The name starts out as the Hebrew Elisheva in the Old Testament, meaning “my God is an oath.”

It becomes Elisabet in Greek, before reaching its current English form. Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament.

No surprise, then, that this name has been wildly popular across the millennia, in nearly every Western language.

From the late Queen of England’s Lilibet to Elizabeth Taylor’s Liz, famous women have answered to plenty of these nicknames. Fiction gives us Pride and Prejudice’s Lizzy Bennet and Thirty Rock’s Liz Lemon. Hamilton leading lady Eliza falls somewhere in between the two categories – a real historical figure, famous thanks to a re-telling of her tale.

Like Eliza, many Elizabeth nicknames now feel like stand-alone options in their own right. Others read like imports, more expected in German or French.

And some flow more naturally from international variations of the name, particularly Elisabeth, which leads more naturally to Lisa.

It’s also worth noting that Isabella and Elizabeth are close cousins, though shortening the name Elizabeth to Bella feels unlikely. Some Elizabeth nicknames, though, like Ilse make more sense as short forms of Isabella/Isabelle/Isabel or Isobel.

Depending on the variation of Elizabeth you favor, the best nicknames might be even more obscure. Veta is short for Elisaveta, the form used in Bulgarian. But it doesn’t quite follow from Elizabeth.

With so much history, we expect Elizabeth nicknames to range from the obvious to the obscure.

It’s one strength of choosing a classic given name for a child.

Read on for some great, unexpected Elizabeth nicknames – plus a few familiar favorites.

BABETTE

A French nickname for Elizabeth, by way of that strong B sound. It’s also used – perhaps more logically – for Barbara. Celebrated 1987 film Babette’s Feast won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. (The movie was Danish, but the character Babette hails from Paris.) While we love -ette ending names for girls, Babette hasn’t been heard in the US since the 1960s.

BEE and BEA

That strong B sound suggests that just the initial might do as a nickname.

BESS

Tess is having a moment, while Bess remains in limbo. This nickname has been associated with Elizabeth for ages; Queen Elizabeth I of England was sometimes called “Good Queen Bess.”

BESSIE

A fun, sparky Elizabeth nickname, Bessie might fit right in with retro nicknames like Sadie and Charlie.

BETH

A long-time favorite, immortalized by a Kiss ballad, Beth has faded in recent years, but remains a classic among Elizabeth nicknames.

BETHAN

It looks like Beth Anne, but Bethan is a traditional Welsh short form.

BETSY

Betsy feels sparky and unexpected, a fresh-faced retro name that could grow up just as easily as Nancy or Wendy.

BETTE

Bette Davis pronounced it like Betty; Bette Midler rhymes hers with set and met. Either way, it’s a sophisticated shortening of this classic name.

BETTINA

Short Elizabeth to Bettina, but then add an -ina, and you’ll arrive at Bettina. It sounds vintage, delicate, and completely unexpected.

BETTY

Mad Men’s Betty Draper failed to revitalize this Elizabeth nickname. But now Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have given it to their youngest daughter – and Taylor Swift revealed her name in a song. That might make Betty the next Sadie, but regardless, it remains a traditional nickname for Elizabeth.

BILLIE

We tend to think of Billie as short for Wilhelmina, or maybe as a stand-alone feminine form of William. But it’s occasionally connected to Elizabeth, too, an unexpected but appealing possibility.

BIRDIE, BIRDY

Mad Men’s Elizabeth “Betty” Draper was sometimes Birdie, at least to (former) husband Don. It’s not just the show, either – Birdie appears on Elizabeth nickname lists over the years. If you love bird-inspired choices, but want a formal name to fall back on, Elizabeth called Birdie might be the perfect choice.

BUFFY

It’s said that Buffy comes from Bethie. But it really comes from 1960s sitcom Family Affair, which introduced three adorable children – Catherine, Jonathan, and Elizabeth, better known as Cissy, Jody, and Buffy. Following their parents’ death in a car crash, they move to New York City to live with their Uncle Bill. Hilarity ensues. Decades later, Buffy the Vampire Slayer proved that this Elizabeth nickname has bite.

BUSY

The sound is there – the strong B, the scissory S/Z. But Busy mostly makes this list because we think of actor/author/social media star Busy Philipps, born Elizabeth.

ELI

In English, we see Eli as an Old Testament name, solidly masculine. In Scandi languages? It’s just as likely to be short for Elisabet or Elin, earning it a spot on this list of potential nicknames for Elizabeth.

ELISE

A gentle Elizabeth nickname that now stands on its own. It follows logically from S spellings of Elizabeth, including Elisabeth and Élisabeth, as well as Elisabeta.

ELIZA

Another of the nicknames for Elizabeth that feels more like a distinctly different option.

ELLE

The hero of the Legally Blonde movies-turned-musical, resourceful and stylish Elle Woods, boosted her name. But it tracks with how we shorten names in the US – Benjamin becomes Ben, Katherine is Kate, and Louisa ends up just Lou. So Elle works beautifully.

ELLIE

Popular Ellie – it’s ranked in the US Top 100 since 2011 – works for all the same reasons that Elle succeeds.

ELSA

The Frozen figure has made her stylish name internationally known. But perhaps it’s made parents hesitate, for fear that they’ll really never hear the last of “Let it Go.” The German and Scandi nickname comes more naturally from Elisabeth – with an s – but it feels like a powerful pick no matter how Elizabeth is spelled.

ELSIE

Sparky Elsie belongs with vintage favorites. Like Elsa, it follows naturally from Elisabeth-with-an-s. But it’s also a stand-alone name, a Top 100 pick in the US from 1880 into the 1930s. Appropriately, it’s a Downton Abbey name, too – though the character is almost exclusively called Mrs. Hughes.

ELZA

A twist on Elsa heard in several languages, including Hungarian and Portuguese.

KAPEKA, PEKE

An English-speaking Elizabeth is unlikely to choose one of these unconventional nicknames. But a Hawaiian Elikapeka? That’s another story. The translation of this traditional names doesn’t sound that different that the original, but swapping the B for a P and adding the K sound does change things. Peke is also associated with Becky, as in Rebecca.

LETTIE

Take Lizzie, mix in Betty, and Lettie emerges as a potential nickname for Elizabeth. It’s uncommon, but names like Leticia, Letizia, Lettice, and Leatrice are rare in the US, so Lettie feels up for grabs.

LIANA

At first glance, it doesn’t fit with nicknames for Elizabeth. But it is heard in several European languages, including Italian and Romanian.

LIBBY

The first letter of Elizabeth may be E, but the first sound is El. Factor in that strong B, and Libby has long served as one of the traditional Elizabeth nicknames. While it’s seldom heard today, it fits right in with Abby, Gabby, Maddie, and Addie.

LIDDY

Former US Senator and Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole is often known as Liddy to the public. It’s a childhood nickname that stuck. Fans of 30 Rock might remember than Jack and Avery named their daughter Elizabeth “Liddy,” inspired in part by Dole.

LIESEL

A German nickname for Elisabeth, Liesel is familiar the world over thanks to The Sound of Music. Though the eldest von Trapp daughter spelled it Liesl. Either way, it’s one of those surprising choices that everyone knows, but no one uses.

LILY and LILLY and LILLIE

Some will insist that Lily is a nickname for Lillian, and linking it to Elizabeth is just too much. But actually, it’s the other way around. Lily started out as one of many Elizabeth nicknames. Lillian is an elaboration of Lily.

LILIBET

Queen Elizabeth II’s childhood nickname – Lilibet – reminds us that the Lily-Elizabeth link is long-standing. Now that Meghan and Harry’s daughter – the queen’s great-granddaughter – is named Lilibet Diana, this is one of the Elizabeth nicknames in the spotlight.

LISA

A 1960s favorite, Lisa started out as a short form of Elisabeth. Unlike some choices on this list, it’s easy to see how the nickname evolved.

LISBET, LISBETH and LIZBETH

Smoosh the sounds of Elizabeth just a tiny bit, and you’ll arrive at Lizbeth. It sounds like a rushed together pronunciation of the name, but it works as a nickname, too. It’s also bestowed independently. Think of Stieg Larson’s fictional hacker-hero Lisbeth Salander of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and sequels. In Dutch, it’s also spelled Liesebeth or even Lijsbeth, so more variations are possible.

LISETTE

Take Lisa, add an -ette, and presto – a French, feminine, but still casual Elizabeth diminutive.

LISI, LISSI

North Europeans often shorten this classic name to Lisi – choose your spelling. (In Estonian and Finnish, the names are often spelled Liisi, to go with Eliisabet.)

LISON 

A sometimes heard French nickname. Reduce Elisabeth to Elise, and the Lise; add the diminutive -on ending and this name is clearly related – though very different.

LIZ and LIZZIE

Liz and Lizzie – or Lizzy – serve as the immediate, automatic Elizabeth nicknames. From Lizzie Borden to Liz Lemon, women – real, fictional, and somewhere in-between, have been Liz across the ages. For every wholesome Lizzie Maguire or polished Liz Claiborne there’s a sultry Liz Taylor or edgy Liz Phair.

LIZA

Strictly speaking, Liza peaked as an independent given name in the 1970s. But it never really caught on. Credit for the 70s peak goes to Liza Minnelli, daughter of Hollywood legend Judy Garland and an Oscar-winner in her own right. Today Liza feels both vintage and slightly undiscovered – a name everyone knows, but no one is using.

LIZZO

Maybe Lizzo is more like Cher – a mononym too big to belong to more than one person. Singer Lizzo was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, but it’s easy to imagine an Elizabeth answering to Lizzo, too.

TESS

T seems an unlikely letter to inspire Elizabeth nicknames. Except the sound is there. And if Elizabeth can be Bess, is Tess really so far away?

TETTY

As Tess is to Bess, Tetty is to Betty. The difference is that Tetty surfaces in the historical record, particularly in the 1700s. It’s all-but-forgotten today. And yet, with Theodora on the rise, Teddy sounds like Teddy – which has some promise.

THEA

Take the last two letters, add the first letter, and then tack on an ‘a’ and – ta da! Thea emerges as an unconventional Elizabeth nickname.

ZABBY

We love Z names, and Elizabeth’s strong Z sound offers several. The ZAB is right there, smack in the middle of the name.

ZAZIE

A French nickname for either Isabelle or Frances, but the strong ZA sound in Elizabeth makes it a possibility for this list, too.

ZELLA

Shift the Z from the middle to the front, and maybe – just maybe – Zella works. But in our age of Stella, Bella, and Ella, Zella is just as likely to stand on its own.

ZIZI

First, the downside: Zizi is children’s slang for male genitalia in French. Is that a dealbreaker? In the US, I’d say no. After all, Zizi sounds like the kind of a name that evolves naturally from Lizzie and that strong Z sound in the middle of Elizabeth.

What do you think of these Elizabeth nicknames? Are there others that should be on the list? 

First published on March 11, 2016, this post was revised substantially on May 17, 2020; December 1, 2020; March 30, 2023; and June 26, 2024.