Boys named Elizabeth

tct1219 · June 2011

I just noticed on Nancy's list that there were 8 boys given the name Elizabeth in 2010. Anyone know why?

starlight8323 · June 2011

Their parents made the mistake of naming their daughter Elliott, and now they feel like they have to even it out with their son?

Just kidding. Actually the name has been used for boys more often than you might think. In 1989 there were 141 of them! Here's the SSA info:

Popularity of the male name Elizabeth

Year of birth	Rank
1989	848
1988	957
1987	916
1986	938
1985	884
1984	912
1983	869
1982	955
1981	944
1980	a
1979	975
1978	a
1977	a
1976	a
1975	a
1974	a
1973	a
1972	a
1971	a
1970	1000
1969	973
1968	a
1967	a
1966	a
1965	991
1964	a
1963	a
1962	a
1961	952
1960	1000
1959	a
1958	a
1957	a
1956	a
1955	a
1954	a
1953	a
1952	a
1951	a
1950	a
1949	a
1948	a
1947	a
1946	a
1945	a
1944	a
1943	a
1942	922
1941	918
1940	874
1939	871
1938	952
1937	870
1936	899
1935	997
1934	976
1933	a
1932	868
1931	943
1930	980
1929	839
1928	a
1927	912
1926	920
1925	a
1924	a
1923	a
1922	a
1921	a
1920	a
1919	a
1918	a
1917	a
1916	a
1915	a
1914	a
1913	a
1912	946
1911	764
1910	735
1909	816
1908	844
1907	751
1906	624
1905	675
1904	654
1903	709
1902	465
1901	742
1900	632
1899	557
1898	551
1897	625
1896	687
1895	494
1894	688
1893	584
1892	817
1891	881
1890	574
1889	470
1888	586
1887	466
1886	580
1885	661
1884	473
1883	501
1882	777
1881	a
1880	649
^a = Not in top 1,000 names for indicated year of birth

tct1219 · June 2011

Ha! Thanks, Eaglefoot. That's just so strange to me. I have seen a lot of female names on the older [1800s-early 1900s] SSA lists but I thought that some of those were errors. I can't imagine meeting a boy named Elizabeth. Great name, though.

starlight8323 · June 2011

It IS a great name. Probably my favorite girls name of all time.

I am also a bit perplexed on the male ties to the name. After a quick Google search, I found little-to-no information on the history of Elizabeth being used for boys.

I did find this Livejournal blog entry, which was pretty interesting:

https://heartstart.livejournal.com/73507.html

We know that the name has been used for women since at least Biblical times. But I'm not sure if it started as a female, male, or unisex. If it did start out as just female, maybe the unique meaning ("my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance") compelled the parents of boys to use it. It's also a saint's name, so maybe that has something to do with it. (I'm not catholic, so I'm not exactly sure how that works.)

I do think it's weird that you brought this up now, because I just recently watched a television show, which talked about the conspiracy theory that Queen Elizabeth was a man.

plunderb · June 2011

8 sounds like an error in paperwork, but I agree that the numbers in the hundreds suggest something else at work. Is there an ethnicity that uses Elizabeth for boys in the same way that the French use Marie for boys?

Fianschneid · June 2011

Is there a nickname for the masculine use of Elizabeth? Maybe they're all just going by Eli.

zaramarie81 · June 2011

Eaglefoot23:
It IS a great name. Probably my favorite girls name of all time.

I am also a bit perplexed on the male ties to the name. After a quick Google search, I found little-to-no information on the history of Elizabeth being used for boys.

I did find this Livejournal blog entry, which was pretty interesting:

https://heartstart.livejournal.com/73507.html

We know that the name has been used for women since at least Biblical times. But I'm not sure if it started as a female, male, or unisex. If it did start out as just female, maybe the unique meaning ("my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance") compelled the parents of boys to use it. It's also a saint's name, so maybe that has something to do with it. (I'm not catholic, so I'm not exactly sure how that works.)

I do think it's weird that you brought this up now, because I just recently watched a television show, which talked about the conspiracy theory that Queen Elizabeth was a man.

As a Catholic the Saint name explanation makes SOME sense. "Mary" and variations of it are used for boys sometimes and priests take her name but... it's usually not their first name. For example, I know a priest named Joseph Mary. Elizabeth for a boy is highly unusual! I wonder if there was a nickname associated with it that sounded very masculine?

starlight8323 · June 2011

zaramarie81:
As a Catholic the Saint name explanation makes SOME sense. "Mary" and variations of it are used for boys sometimes and priests take her name but... it's usually not their first name. For example, I know a priest named Joseph Mary. Elizabeth for a boy is highly unusual! I wonder if there was a nickname associated with it that sounded very masculine?

Thank you for weighing in! I was hoping at least one catholic person would comment.

There is one masculine name, which is not directly related to the name, but is a distant cousin:

SHEBA

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Biblical

Other Scripts: ?????? (Ancient Hebrew)

Pronounced: SHEE-b? (English)

Means "oath" in Hebrew. This was the name of several characters in the Old Testament. Also in the Bible this is a place name, referring to a region in Ethiopia. The queen of Sheba visited Solomon after hearing of his wisdom.

From what I gather from the BTN information on Elizabeth, perhaps it went something like this:

Sheba -> Elisheba -> Elisheva -> Elisabet -> Elizabeth

But that still doesn't explain why parents would still choose the female variant of the name for their son. I don't know any male Robertas or Thomasinas (although I must admit, I DID look them up before using them here as examples). Elizabeth itself has to have been a legitimate male name at some point.

MoFree · June 2011

How is it worse than a girl named Logan, Elliot or Parker?

starlight8323 · June 2011

MoFree:
How is it worse than a girl named Logan, Elliot or Parker?

It isn't. I think most of the ladies on this board would agree, that those names are better suited for boys.

We talk about that subject all the time here, so I think we are allowed one thread on the subject of girl names on boys... if that's okay with you. Hmm

KStar21 · June 2011

Many of those "boy Elizabeths" as well as other obviously-gendered names appearing on the other list are most likely errors in recording the gender. If you look at the older lists (pre-1990s or so) many of them even made it into the top 1,000 (that was before computers were commonplace to catch the mistakes).

starlight8323 · June 2011

Then why does the boy popularity follow its own trend patterns, apart from the trend of the girl popularity? If more girls are named Elizabeth in any particular year, there should be more "errors" for that year, right?

And how do you account for the 8 born last year, when computers were there to "catch the mistakes"? (I'm not sure how they would do this anyway, since computers are only as smart as the humans who operate them.)

ObLaDi · June 2011

Does this make anyone else think of The Producers? (The Nazi playwright makes them swear an oath to Adolf Elizabeth Hitler)

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