Enter Etymology Man!

One of my favorite things about searching for bad baby names is observing the mini flamewars that dumb people start on naming boards:


Person 1: Well any time the spelling is made up I loath the name. But aside from dumb spellings ("loath," for one?), I love Leah but hate Lia. I love Viviane and Vivian but hate Vivienne. I love Alice but hate Alyse and Alise. I hate Elisabeth but adore Elizabeth.

Person 2: I hate to break it to you, (NB: whenever this is said, it is pretty obvious that they are relishing breaking it to you) but Elisabeth is the original spelling of Elizabeth - before Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth was spelled Elisabeth, in English-speaking countries, at least.

Person 1: I just don't like Elisabeth's sound very much. I don't know, it's not a spirited sounding as Elizabeth. It's like Ava and Eva, similar but I think Eva has more spirit.

It's like Catherine and Katherine. Katherine came first but they've been around ages and both are acceptable names. I mean, the biblical form was Elisheba, but I'm hardly going to use that just because it's the original.

Also, I'm not sure that's true. Elisabeth is the Germen and French original form but it's always been Elizabeth in English.


It's always been Elizabeth in English. Just like Alice has always been Alice in English. OH WAIT, THAT'S NOT TRUE! ENTER ETYMOLOGY MAN!!!

The truth is, claiming "traditional" spellings for so many of these traditional names is entirely fruitless. Chaucer alone spelled "Alison" three different ways in one work. Shakespeare spelled his own name many different ways across his lifetime. Alice, Alyse and Alice (and Alys, Alis and Alise, actually) were really all the same person in those days of "genuine spelling." Elizabeth's "s" or "z" was really the last of anyone's concerns. And HELLO! THEY SOUND THE SAME ANYWAY!! Anyone who makes an effort to really distinguish between pronunciations "Elizabeth" and "Elisabeth" is obviously trying too hard.

And now, I am going to go watch Dad feed the fish.