Bess

  • [ BES ]
  • English
Diminutive of ELIZABETH.

ELIZABETH   female   English, Biblical
From Ελισαβετ (Elisabet), the Greek form of the Hebrew name אֱלִישֶׁבַע ('Elisheva') meaning "my God is an oath" or perhaps "my God is abundance". The Hebrew form appears in the Old Testament where Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, while the Greek form appears in the New Testament where Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist.

Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. It has also been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Elisabeth, Elizabeth, Elsabeth, Elyzabeth, Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Isbel, Isebella, Izabelle
EQUIVALENTS
ARMENIAN: Zabel
BASQUE: Elixabete
BIBLICAL GREEK: Elisabet
BIBLICAL HEBREW: Elisheba
BIBLICAL LATIN: Elisabeth
BIBLICAL: Elisabeth, Elisheba, Elizabeth
BULGARIAN: Elisaveta
CROATIAN: Elizabeta
CZECH: Alžběta, Eliška
DANISH: Eli, Elisabet, Elisabeth, Elise, Ella, Else, Isabella, Lilly, Lis, Lisa, Lisbet, Lise, Lissi
DUTCH: Betje, Elisabeth, Elise, Elly, Els, Else, Elsje, Ilse, Isa, Isabella, Isabelle, Lies, Liesbeth, Liese, Liesje, Lijsbeth, Lisa
ENGLISH: Bella, Belle, Bessie, Beth, Betsy, Bette, Bettie, Betty, Bettye, Buffy, Elisa, Elise, Elissa, Eliza, Ella, Elle, Ellie, Elly, Elsa, Elsie, Elyse, Ibbie, Issy, Izzy, Leesa, Libbie, Libby, Liddy, Lilian, Liliana, Lilibet, Lilibeth, Lillian, Lilliana, Lisa, Lise, Liz, Liza, Lizbeth, Lizette, Lizzie, Lizzy, Sabella, Tetty
ESTONIAN: Eliisabet, Liis, Liisa, Liisi, Liisu
FINNISH: Eliisa, Elisa, Elisabet, Ella, Elsa, Liisa, Liisi
FRENCH: Babette, Élisabeth, Élise, Isabel, Isabelle, Lili, Liliane, Lilianne, Lise
FRISIAN: Bet, Lys
GALICIAN: Sabela
GEORGIAN: Elisabed, Eliso
GERMAN: Bettina, Elisa, Elisabeth, Elise, Elli, Elsa, Else, Ilsa, Ilse, Isa, Isabel, Isabell, Isabella, Isabelle, Lies, Liesa, Liese, Liesel, Liesl, Lili, Lilli, Lisa, Lisbeth
GREEK: Elisavet
HAWAIIAN: Elikapeka
HEBREW: Elisheva
HUNGARIAN: Bözsi, Erzsébet, Erzsi, Izabella, Lili, Liliána, Liza, Zsóka
ICELANDIC: Elísabet, Elsa
IRISH: Eilís, Eilish, Isibéal, Sibéal
ITALIAN: Elisa, Elisabetta, Elsa, Isa, Isabella, Liliana, Lisa
LIMBURGISH: Bet
LITHUANIAN: Elžbieta, Elzė
MACEDONIAN: Beti, Elisaveta, Veta
MANX: Ealisaid
MEDIEVAL ENGLISH: Ibb
MEDIEVAL OCCITAN: Isabel
NORWEGIAN: Eli, Elisabet, Elisabeth, Elise, Ella, Else, Isabella, Lilly, Lis, Lisa, Lisbet, Lise, Liss
OCCITAN: Isabèl
OLD CHURCH SLAVIC: Elisabeti
POLISH: Ela, Eliza, Elżbieta, Iza, Izabela, Izabella, Liliana
PORTUGUESE (BRAZILIAN): Eliza, Izabel, Lílian
PORTUGUESE: Belinha, Elisa, Elisabete, Isabel, Isabela, Liliana
ROMANIAN: Elisabeta, Isabela, Isabella, Liliana
RUSSIAN: Elizaveta, Liza, Lizaveta, Yelizaveta
SCOTTISH: Beileag, Ealasaid, Elspet, Elspeth, Iseabail, Ishbel, Isobel, Lileas, Lilias, Lillias
SERBIAN: Jela, Jelisaveta
SLOVAK: Alžbeta, Eliška
SLOVENE: Elizabeta, Špela
SPANISH: Eli, Elisa, Elisabet, Isa, Isabel, Isabela, Liliana, Ysabel
SWEDISH: Elisabet, Elisabeth, Elise, Ella, Elsa, Isabella, Lilly, Lis, Lisa, Lisbet, Lise
UKRAINIAN: Yelyzaveta
WELSH: Bethan
DIMINUTIVES AND SHORT FORMS
ENGLISH: Leanna, Liana, Libbie, Libby, Lillia, Lisette, Lysette
FRENCH: Lisette
ITALIAN: Liana
LIMBURGISH: Betje
PORTUGUESE: Liana
ROMANIAN: Liana
SERBIAN: Jelica