Eliza
Meaning of Eliza
Eliza began life as the sprightly nickname for Elizabeth—Hebrew for “pledged to God”—and, like a heroine who refuses to stay in the wings, she soon claimed the spotlight all for herself. From Jane Austen’s witty Eliza Bennet relations to Broadway’s indomitable Eliza Doolittle and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s fearless Eliza Hamilton, the name carries a trunkful of literary and theatrical passports, each stamped with charm, quick wit, and a dash of rebellion. In English you’ll hear her as ih/uh-LIE-zuh, while in the sun-soaked plazas of Spain she turns into the lilting eh-LEE-tha and in Italy she twirls as eh-LEE-tsah—proof that Eliza loves to travel light yet leave an unforgettable footprint. Stateside, she’s danced back up the popularity charts since the 1990s, now hovering just outside the Top 100, a sweet spot that feels both familiar and refreshingly under-used. Altogether, Eliza is that rare blend of vintage lace and modern sneakers: classic enough for Grandma’s silver frame, spirited enough for tomorrow’s trailblazer.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as eh-LEE-thah (/eˈlita/)
Italian
- Pronunced as eh-LEE-tsah (/eˈlitsa/)
British English
- Pronunced as ih-LIE-zuh (/ɪˈlaɪzə/)
American English
- Pronunced as uh-LIE-zuh (/əˈlaɪzə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Eliza
| Eliza Stephens, an English governess to Mary Eleanor Bowes, helped Andrew Robinson Stoney marry Bowes, was rumored to be his lover before marrying tutor Henry Stephens, accepted a payment and annuity, and later helped keep Bowes's daughter from her until the 1789 divorce. |
| Eliza Dushku is an American former actress and current therapist known for playing Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, leading Tru Calling and Dollhouse, and producing Dollhouse. |
| Eliza Emily Porter, the first public school teacher in Chicago, founded teacher training schools, educated settlers and Native people, aided Civil War wounded with the US Sanitary Commission, supported the Underground Railroad, and taught freed people. |
| Eliza Taylor is an Australian actress best known for playing Janae Timmins on Neighbours, Clarke Griffin on The 100, and Hannah Carson on Quantum Leap. |
| Eliza George - Elizabeth George, known as Mother George, volunteered as a Civil War nurse for Union soldiers in the South, died of typhoid in 1865, and received a full military burial in Fort Wayne. |
| Eliza Ann Ross was a Canadian sailor known for commanding the steel four masted barquentine Reform. |
| Eliza Ann Ashton was an English-born Australian journalist and social reformer who wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph under the pen names Faustine and Mrs Julian Ashton, and was a founding member of the Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales. |
| Eliza Jane Scanlen is an Australian actress who rose to fame in Home and Away and earned acclaim for playing troubled teens in the HBO series Sharp Objects and the BBC series Dope Girls. |
| Eliza Simmons Bryant was an American humanitarian who aided formerly enslaved people in Cleveland and in 1896 founded the Cleveland Home for Aged Colored People, now Eliza Bryant Village. |
| Eliza Pearl Shippen was an American educator, founding member of Delta Sigma Theta, and English professor and Dean of Women at the University of the District of Columbia. |
| Born into slavery, Eliza Carpenter became the only African American jockey and racehorse owner in early Oklahoma, winning many races and much prize money over three decades. |
| Eliza Pickrell Routt was a pioneer for womens voting rights and the inaugural first lady of Colorado. |
| Eliza Boardman Burnz was a 19th century American shorthand pioneer whose simplified alphabet, based on Isaac Pitmans Phonography, became the subject of Mark Twains essay A Simplified Alphabet. |
| Eliza Scudder, a 19th century American hymnwriter, wrote notable pieces like The Love of God, Truth, Lines for Music, and The Vesper Hymn, and was influenced by her uncle Edmund Hamilton Sears, author of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. |
