Pronunciation | English (British): [ɪˈlaɪzə] English (US): [əˈlaɪzə] |
---|---|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Hebrew |
Meaning | "pledged to God; joyful" |
Other names | |
Related names | Elisa, Élise, Elizabeth, Elle, Ellie, Lisa, Liza, Elissa, Elza, Aliza |
Eliza is a female given name in English, meaning "pledged to God" or "joyful."
The name first developed as a diminutive of Elizabeth[1] in the 16th century and its use as an independent name started in the 18th century. The name Elizabeth has been around since the Middle Ages, mainly popularised by the French (using the spelling Elisabeth). Elizabeth with a "z" is the typical spelling in English. Elizabeth is found in the Bible (Luke 1:57) as the mother of John the Baptist. Elizabeth became popularised during the late medieval period as a given name, mostly influenced by two saints – St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Elizabeth of Portugal. It was brought to England by the French, and the English can be credited with the formation of Eliza as a hypocorism (the French use Élise).[2]
It may also be used as a variant of the Hebrew name Aliza, עַלִיזָה meaning "joyful".[3][4][5]
Characters in literary and screen works known solely as Eliza include:
Characters that have the first name Eliza and a known last name include: