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Summary
- Elizabeth is in the Bible: she is the mother of John the Baptist, named in eight verses of Luke 1.
- Her name is the Greek form of the Hebrew Elisheba, “my God is an oath,” the name of Aaron’s wife in Exodus 6:23.
- Luke records her words three times: on conceiving, on greeting Mary, and on naming her son John (Luke 1:25, 42–45, 60).
- Luke calls her Mary’s relative without saying how; Orthodox tradition makes her the sister of Mary’s mother, Anna.
- Her greeting to Mary forms part of the Hail Mary (Catechism 2676); the Roman Martyrology commemorates her with Zechariah on 23 September.
- In the United States Elizabeth has never ranked lower than 30th since 1880; Eliza, Beth, Betty, Libby and Lisa are among its short forms.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Elizabeth,” “Elisheba” and “Elisabeth,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/elizabeth
- Strong’s Hebrew Concordance 472 (Elisheba) and 7650 (shaba), with Brown-Driver-Briggs, Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/472.htm
- Bible Gateway keyword searches for “Elisabeth” and “Elisheba” in the King James Version. https://www.biblegateway.com/
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2676. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P9F.HTM
- Nominis (Conférence des évêques de France), “Saints Zacharie et Elisabeth” and “Visitation de la Vierge Marie,” citing the Roman Martyrology. https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10444/Saints-Zacharie-et-Elisabeth.html
- Orthodox Church in America, “Holy Prophet Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, parents of Saint John the Baptist” (5 September). https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2014/09/05/102502-holy-prophet-zachariah-and-righteous-elizabeth-parents-of-saint
- Online Etymology Dictionary, “cousin.” https://www.etymonline.com/word/cousin
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Exodus 6:23; Luke 1:5, 24–25, 36–37, 43, 45. References: Luke 1:5–7, 11–20, 28, 36, 39–45, 56, 59–60; 3:2–3; Matthew 3:13–17.
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