As a fledgling name nerd, I remember being fascinated by the name Elizabeth. It was so elaborate, so odd for a name that had been so widely used over so many centuries. John, sure, that was a name simple and straightforward enough for the masses to get behind. Anne and Mary, of course they had what it took to transcend the ups and downs of fashion. But Elizabeth, with its long E beginning and lisping ending, its bizarre z in the middle and its four freaking syllables? I don’t think so!
And yet the unlikely Elizabeth has endured. It’s the only girls’ name to have remained in the Top 25 (okay, 26) throughout entire recorded American baby-naming history, since 1880. Elizabeth hit its nadir in 1945, when it dipped to number 26, but it should be noted that its short form Betty was Number 11 that year, after having been in the Top 10 since 1921. Even when Elizabeth and her sisters were relatively unpopular, they were everywhere.
Elizabeth, which means “pledged to God,” springs from the ancient Hebrew custom of referencing God — or El — in a name’s prefix or suffix. The ancient Hebrew form of the name is Elisheva.
First of all it’s the nickname names, which right now seem to be even more prevalent in 
The first time I visited Cornwall was at the tender age of one. Sadly, my dad’s abiding memory of that holiday was a grouching baby grizzling all through his long-awaited sailing trip (something he has yet to fully forgive me for to this day). A few years later my parents bravely returned again, one more child in tow, and fortunately much fun and sandcastle-building ensued.
We recently looked at girls’ names popular around the world yet exotic-sounding in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries, and today we turn to the boys’ version of this kind of name.
