Eliza Name Meaning: Origin, Popularity & Nicknames

What Does Eliza Mean?

Eliza is a traditionally-female name that is Hebrew in origin. The direct meaning of the name Eliza is “pledged to God.” ⁽¹⁾ Other meanings include “My God is bountiful” and “God of plenty.”

Originally, Eliza was a shortened diminutive of the name Elizabeth before becoming a name in its own right. The name is commonly confused with Aliza, a similar name. Both names often translate to “joy” or “joyful” in Hebrew but have no relation.

What Is the Origin of the Name Eliza?

Generally speaking, Eliza’s primary origin is as a diminutive of Elizabeth. In English and French, the names originate as blessings towards the Christian God.

Moving to many other cultures, such as Greek, American, and Hebrew, the name changes origins. In these cultures, Eliza is taken from Elisheba, meaning “oath of God.”

Eliza is also a diminutive for Bethia and Bethany. The former means “daughter of God” while the latter is the name of a New Testament village.

All origins of the name point towards religious and biblical meanings.

How Popular Is the Name Eliza?

Eliza is growing in popularity as a name. In 2015, it broke into the top 200 and has since broken into the top 120 in 2019 ⁽²⁾. Since then, it has continued to grow steadily in popularity.

Ranking popularity can also be a bit tricky for Eliza. Namely, this is because many people that go by Eliza are named Elizabeth. If counting the name Elizabeth among its popularity, the name is rarely out of the top 20 names in the United States.

How Do I Pronounce Eliza?

There are different ways to pronounce Eliza. The most common is “Ee-LIE-zuh.” In some nations, the name is pronounced “EL-ee-zuh” instead but is much less popular.

Is Eliza a Boy or Girl Name?

Traditionally, Eliza is a feminine name. In some Hebrew translations, it can translate directly to “daughter of God,” cementing the feminine roots.

There are masculine variations of Eliza, however. Elijah and Eli are both masculine substitutions.

Variations of Eliza

There are still many different forms and related names. This isn’t even counting the masculine versions. Here are some of the variations of Eliza.

• Eilis (Scottish)
• Elisa (Hebrew)
• Elise (French)
• Eloise (French)
• Elsa (Scandinavian)
• Elsi (German)
• Elyes(Arabic)
• Elysia(Latin)

Nicknames for Eliza

Eliza is already often used as a nickname, but many have Eliza as a given birth name. Here are some truncated names for Eliza

• Elize
• Elle
• Ellie
• Lil
• Lilly
• Liz
• Liza
• Lizey
• Lizzie

Similar Names to Eliza

There are many names similar to Eliza, depending on the culture. Here are some of them.

• Aleza
• Alisa
• Alisha
• Elisa
• Elise
• Elliz
• Elliza
• Ellize
• Eloise
• Eloize

Middle Names for Eliza

Many middle names for Eliza focus on alliteration. Some will also try to match the syllable count. The most common matches for Eliza are two or three-syllable feminine names.

• Alice
• Alisha
• Aliza
• Carol
• Cheshire
• Claire
• Ellen
• Erika
• Iris
• Isabelle
• Isabella

Sibling Names for Eliza

With sibling names, the sky is the limit. If the daughter is a twin, many options play off of similarity.

A masculine sibling could be named the masculine version of Eliza as well. Here are some sibling names that would work well with the feminine Eliza.

• Alicia
• Alisha
• Aliza
• Bethany
• Brittney
• Chloe
• Claire
• Eli
• Elijah
• Heather
• Joey
• Joseph
• Sylvia
• Zoey

Famous People Named Eliza

Given its popularity, there are dozens of famous people named Eliza. Here are a handful of the many celebrities and people of note with the name Eliza.

• Eliza Bennett: English Actress.
• Eliza Ann Dupuy: American Author.
• Eliza Putnam Heaton: American Journalist and Editor.
• Eliza Trask Hill: American Activist and Philanthropist.
• Eliza Hamilton Holly: Daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.
• Eliza Monroe Hay: Acting First Lady of the United States.
• Eliza Sam: Canadian actress primarily based in Hong Kong.
• Eliza Read Sunderland: American lecturer and educator, women’s rights advocate.
• Eliza Taylor-Cotter: Australian Actress.
• Eliza Townsend: American Poet.

Eliza in Popular Culture

Eliza has been used in many popular culture outlets as well. Especially common in video games, television, and writing, here are some of the many examples.

• Eliza (Uncle Tom’s Cabin): An enslaved person in the story.
• Eliza (Tormented): A ghost child in the short film.
• Eliza (Tekken): A narcoleptic vampire character.
• Eliza (Skullgirls): A character in the Skullgirls universe, real name Neferu.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Benneth (Pride and Prejudice): One of the primary characters in the story.
• Elizabeth “Eliza” Doolittle (Pygmalion): Primary character in the play, musical, and film Pygmalion.
• Eliza Thornberry (The Wild Thornberrys): Primary character in Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberrys.

Eliza FAQs

There’s still plenty to know about the many forms of Eliza! Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.