Eliza is a female given name in English, meaning "pledged to God" or "joyful."

Etymology

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]

People with this name

• Eliza Bennett (born 1992), English actress
• Eliza Brightwen (1830–1906), Scottish naturalist
• Eliza Carthy (born 1975), English folk musician
• Eliza Chulkhurst (1100–34 or 1500–34), conjoined twin
• Eliza Archard Conner (1838–1912), American journalist, lecturer, feminist
• Eliza Coupe (born 1981), American actress
• Eliza Doolittle (singer) (born 1988), British singer
• Eliza Ann Dupuy (ca. 1814–1880), American author
• Eliza Dushku (born 1980), American actress
• Eliza Lee Cabot Follen (1787–1860), American writer, editor, abolitionist
• Eliza Fraser (c.1798–1858), Scottish woman after whom Fraser Island in Australia is named
• Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler Hamilton (1757–1854), American philanthropist and wife of United States Founding Father Alexander Hamilton
• Eliza Putnam Heaton (1860–1919), American journalist, editor
• Eliza Parks Hegan (1861–1917), Canadian nurse
• Eliza Trask Hill (1840–1908), American activist, journalist, philanthropist
• Eliza Hamilton Holly (1799–1859), seventh child and second daughter of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton
• Eliza Junor (1804–1861), Scotswoman of mixed race who was the daughter of a former enslaver
• Eliza D. Keith (1854–1939), American educator, suffragist, journalist
• Eliza Monroe Hay (1786–1840), American socialite and acting First Lady
• Eliza F. Morris (1821–1874), English hymnwriter
• Eliza Maria Mosher (1846–1928), American physician, educator, medical writer, inventor
• Eliza O'Flaherty (1818–1882) Australian writer and stage actress
• Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841–1910), Polish writer nominated for the Nobel prize
• Eliza Hall Nutt Parsley (1842–1920), American philanthropist and school founder
• Eliza A. Pittsinger (1837–1908), American poet
• Eliza Ridgely (1803–1867), American heiress and socialite
• Eliza Sam (born 1984), Canadian actress based in Hong Kong
• Eliza Scudder (1821-1896), American hymnwriter
• Eliza Seymour Lee (1800–1874), American pastry chef and restaurateur
• Eliza Soutsou (1837–1887), Greek writer and translator
• Eliza Read Sunderland (1839–1910), American writer, educator, lecturer, women's rights advocate
• Eliza Taylor-Cotter (born 1989), Australian actress
• Eliza Townsend (1788–1854), American poet
• Eliza Vozemberg (born 1956), Greek lawyer and politician

Fictional characters

Characters in literary and screen works known solely as Eliza include:

• Eliza (Uncle Tom's Cabin), a slave from Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Eliza (Stephenson character), a socialite from Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle of novels
• Eliza, the wife in the Eliza series of novels by Barry Pain
• Eliza, a ghost child in short film Tormented
• Eliza, love interest of Faust VIII in the manga Shaman King
• Eliza, a female narcoleptic vampire from the Tekken series
• Eliza (Real name Neferu), a singer, model, and diva from Skullgirls

Characters that have the first name Eliza and a known last name include:

• Elizabeth "Eliza" Bennet in the novel Pride and Prejudice
• Elizabeth "Eliza" Doolittle in the play Pygmalion (played by Mrs. Patrick Campbell) and the musical inspired by it, My Fair Lady (played on stage by Julie Andrews and in the film by Audrey Hepburn)
• Eliza and Neil was a second boss in Fantastic Parodius and Otomedius.
• Eliza Fletcher, a character in the Phineas and Ferb episode My Fair Goalie who was inspired by Eliza Doolittle.
• Eliza Thornberry, voiced by Lacey Chabert in The Wild Thornberrys
• Eliza Makepeace, one of the main characters in The Forgotten Garden, from Australian author Kate Morton
• Eliza Danvers, Kara Danvers/Supergirl's foster mother in Supergirl, played by Helen Slater
• Eliza Cohen, a female FBI SWAT operator from Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
• Eliza Fisher, a main character debuting in the second and final season of Siren in which she is a blonde mermaid
• Eliza Cassan, one of the news reporters seen in the Deus Ex videogame saga.
• Eliza Dooley, a main character of the tv series Selfie
• Eliza Aitan, police department lead detective in Workaholic

See also

• Elisa (given name)
• Eliza (disambiguation)

References