Given name & surname
Liz
“my God is bountiful”·“God is my oath”·“My God is bountiful”
Liz is a variant of Liza. In English use, Liza carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” In English use, Liz is a short form 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
Liz is a variant of Liza. In English use, Liza carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.” In English use, Liz is a short form 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
In English use, Liz is a short form 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 usage, Liz is a diminutive of Elizabeth. In English use, Liz is a short form 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 1930. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Liz is a short form 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
Liz through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,223
- 0 boys · 10,223 girls
- Most popular year
- 1961
- 664 babies
- 2025
- 178
- #1,259 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +68%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 178 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,259 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 68.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 664 in 1961. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (36). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 23,084 as a first name in 2020; 1,045 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.
Liz’s family of names
In English usage, Liz is a diminutive of Elizabeth. Liz has a related form in Liza. Liz is a short form of Elizabeth.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 43
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Isabellaequivalent
- Isabelleequivalent
- Isabelequivalent
- Izabellaequivalent
- Elisabethequivalent
- Lisaequivalent
- Bettyequivalent
- Betsyequivalent
Show 35 moreShow fewer
- Tinaequivalent
- Izabelequivalent
- Ilseequivalent
- Izabelaequivalent
- Lieslequivalent
- Lieselequivalent
- Ilsaequivalent
- Elspethequivalent
- Betinaequivalent
- Bettinaequivalent
- Elizabetequivalent
- Elisabettaequivalent
- Elizabetaequivalent
- Ilzeequivalent
- Lyzequivalent
- Lissequivalent
- Liisaequivalent
- Lieseequivalent
- Tineequivalent
- Liseequivalent
- Sabelequivalent
- Ilzaequivalent
- Elžbietaequivalent
- Élisabethequivalent
- Erzsébetequivalent
- Ealisaidequivalent
- Liesbethequivalent
- Elesbedequivalent
- Elżbietaequivalent
- Alžbětaequivalent
- Elizabetoequivalent
- Liisiequivalent
- Ísabellaequivalent
- ЛизRussian
- Eskeequivalent
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Liz
- Liz CheneyUnited States Representative from Wyoming from 2017 to 2023born 1966
- Liz SheridanAmerican actress (1929–2022)
- Liz PhairAmerican musicianborn 1967
- Liz SmithBritish actress (1921–2016)
- Liz MitchellJamaican singerborn 1952
- Liz VasseyAmerican actressborn 1972
- Liz TorresAmerican actressborn 1947
- Liz ChaseZimbabwean field hockey player1950–2018
- Liz KendallBritish politician (born 1971)
Characters named Liz: Liz Allan (Marvel Comics), Liz Sherman (Hellboy comics character), Liz Shaw (the TV series Doctor Who).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Liz, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sarita
“princess”
>99% girls
Bethie
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Lies
“God is my oath” · “My God is bountiful”
21% boys · 79% girls
Anne
“he (God) has favoured me (i.e. with a child)”
>99% girls
Buffie
“my God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Lemyuel
“devoted to God” · “one who belongs to God”
—
Shari
“one who is greatly loved; a darling” · “rose of Sharon”
>99% girls
Deborah
“bee”
>99% girls