Character Name
Elisabeth
Elisabeth Elisabeth carries the full scriptural weight of Elisheba — God's oath and abundance — in a spelling that signals European cultural formation, whether Germanic, Scandinavian, or French. The two famous Elisabeths of the nineteenth century — the Hungarian saint of radical charitable giving and the Austrian Empress of beautiful, tragic restlessness — between them give the name opposing but equally compelling dimensions: the saint who gives everything and the empress who cannot give herself to anything. It suits protagonists of exceptional quality whose nature is too large for the world that contains them.
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Famous characters named Elisabeth
Elisabeth
Elisabeth — Michael Kunze / Sylvester Levay
The Empress Elisabeth of Austria whose restless resistance to the Habsburg court's conventions is the subject of the celebrated Austrian musical, a portrait of a woman who preferred death to constraint.
Elisabeth Schumann
Tannhäuser — Richard Wagner
The pure, devoted princess whose love for Tannhäuser and intercessory prayer provide the possibility of his redemption in Wagner's opera of sacred and profane love.
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Related names
More Latin names
Silvana
“The Italian and Spanish feminine form of Silvanus, from the Latin silva meaning "wood, forest". Silvanus was the Roman god of the forest and countryside, protector of fields and woodland boundaries, a rural deity associated with the wild spaces that bordered human cultivation. The feminine form Silvana carries the forest's ancient associations of mystery and natural power.”
Roslyn
“Possibly a variant of Rosalind, from the Old High German Roslindis composed of hros meaning "horse" and lind meaning "gentle, soft, flexible" — thus "gentle horse" or "tender steed". Alternatively it may be a Scottish place name (Rosslyn in Midlothian, famous for its chapel) that became a given name. The rose-association in the spelling gives it additional floral resonance.”
Francis
“From the Latin Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman" or "free man," derived from Francus, the Latin name for the Franks — a Germanic tribe whose name derives from a root meaning "free." The name was adopted throughout Europe following the fame of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), the Italian friar famous for his love of poverty and nature. Frances is the standard feminine form.”
Libbie
“A diminutive of Elizabeth or Libby, from the Hebrew Elisheba meaning "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance". The nickname Libbie was popular in the Victorian era, associated with the familiar American diminutive tradition. It was the nickname of Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of General George Custer, through whose memoirs the name acquired historical associations.”
Veronica
“From the Medieval Latin Veronica, traditionally interpreted as a combination of the Latin vera meaning "true" and the Greek eikon meaning "image" — thus "true image". The name is associated with the legend of Saint Veronica, who wiped Christ's face on the Via Dolorosa and received a miraculous imprint. It may also derive from the Greek form of the Macedonian name Berenice.”
Amya
“A modern American variant of Amy, itself from the Old French Amée meaning "beloved", derived from the Latin amata, the feminine past participle of amare meaning "to love". The variant spelling gives a modern stylistic identity to a name whose root reaches back to the Latin concept of amor, the fundamental force in Virgil's Aeneid and the Roman love poets.”
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