Given name & surname
Eliza
“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”
In Polish use, Eliza is a diminutive of Elisabeth. One interpretation is “God is my oath.” Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Polish use, Eliza is a diminutive of Elisabeth. One interpretation is “God is my oath.” Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth. “God is my oath” is the etymological interpretation given for Elisabeth, the same name in a different spelling. “My God is bountiful” is another recorded interpretation, but the two should be kept distinct rather than blended into one literal translation.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the usual English spelling of Elisabeth. The related biblical forms connect it with the Hebrew name Elisheba, borne by Aaron’s wife.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Eliza is used as a shortened form of Elizabeth. Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth. The shared background comes through Elizabeth: English generally uses Elizabeth with a z, where many European languages retain Elisabeth with an s. Elisabeth is connected with Elisheba; its final element may have been reshaped through association with Hebrew shabbath, “sabbath.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Eliza is a variant of Elizabeth. The history of Elizabeth gives this family its wider story. The New Testament Elisabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. English royal associations include Elizabeth I and, in the twentieth century, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and her daughter Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s familiar forms developed along several paths, including Eliza, Beth, Bess, Betty, Libby and Lizzie.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Eliza through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 70,771
- 202 boys · 70,569 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 2,490 babies
- 2025
- 2,375
- #115 for girls · #12,571 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,370 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 115 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 5 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (211). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 41,537 as a first name in 2020; 121 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Eliza’s family of names
Eliza is a short form of Elizabeth. In Polish usage, Eliza has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Elisa. Eliza has a related form in Elizabeth.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Eliza has relatives in 9 languages.
11 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 27
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Elisesource · German
- ElisaItalian, Portuguese
- Alizaequivalent
- Elliequivalent
- Elsiequivalent
- Zetaequivalent
- Ilizaequivalent
- Elizeequivalent
Show 19 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Eliza
- Eliza DushkuAmerican actressborn 1980
- Eliza McCardle JohnsonFirst Lady of the United States from 1865 to 18691810–1876
- Eliza TaylorAustralian actressborn 1989
- Eliza ScanlenAustralian actress (born 1999)
- Eliza ActonBritish food writer and poet (1799–1859)
- Eliza BennettBritish actress and singerborn 1992
- Eliza McCartneyNew Zealand athletics competitor (born 1996)
- Eliza DoolittleBritish singer (born 1988)
- Eliza LynchFirst Lady of Paraguay1835–1886
Characters named Eliza: Eliza Doolittle (London who appears in the play Pygmalion and the musical version of that play, My Fair Lady).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Eliza, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Isabelle
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Elaina
“the shining light”
>99% girls
Ellie
“from a foreign land” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Evangeline
“a bringer of good news”
>99% girls
Lilah
“night” · “born at night”
>99% girls
Zara
“princess”
>99% girls
Matilda
“one who is mighty in battle”
>99% girls
Evie
“a birdlike woman” · “a birdlike man”
>99% girls