Elizabeth, elisabeth, or elsbeth, etc

Girl Names
1

I’ve (eh…We’ve) decided on the nickname [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name]. [name]Will[/name] you help us with a few lingering questions?

Our original thought was [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Smith[/name] (not our real last name, but similar), but we’d call her and introduce her as [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name], with the expectation that other people would. As with most doubles, she’d likely sometimes just get called [name]Mae[/name], which I adore for its simplicity and old-timey sound. We prefer [name]Mae[/name] with this spelling, as it’s a bit funky-looking, even though it’s traditional and typical. But, is it just me, or does it look too close to Macbeth? Written out in script, it looks fine, but on the computer, I can’t seem to shake it. [name]May[/name] [name]Beth[/name] seems to get rid of that issue, but alas, our girly isn’t due in [name]May[/name], and naming her directly for the month feels odd. What do you think?

Is [name]Mae[/name], or [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name], too country to match well with [name]Ulysses[/name] and [name]Bishop[/name]? My gut says yes, but I love it so much that I almost don’t care.

[name]Both[/name] of us prefer the spelling [name]Elisabeth[/name], but we’d be naming after my gran, who spelled it with a Z, as is customary. Is it weird to switch it up to the less conventional spelling?

Alternatively, to make the name less bland, we thought of [name]Elsbeth[/name] (we thought spelling it [name]Elspeth[/name] couldn’t work to get us to nn [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name]). Does that still honour Granny?

Should we just do away with [name]Mae[/name] altogether and put [name]Elsbeth[/name] up front, as it seems to have more of the same kick as the boy names? ([name]Ulysses[/name], [name]Bishop[/name], and [name]Elsbeth[/name] perhaps goes better than [name]Ulysses[/name], [name]Bishop[/name], and [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name]?). But truthfully, sound-wise, we both prefer [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] : / We’re country folk at heart. We adore [name]Annabeth[/name], too, it just looks wrong to us, and we fear it getting lost with all the [name]Anabel[/name]'s etc. Thoughts on that?

So, there it all is:

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Smith[/name]

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] [name]Smith[/name]

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elsbeth[/name] [name]Smith[/name]

[name]Elsbeth[/name] [who knows] [name]Smith[/name].

or, alternativly

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] [Second Middle] [name]Smith[/name]

[name]May[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name] [name]Smith[/name], etc…

Is [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] just some awful name that I’ve latched onto stupidly? Tell me, does it sound completely off? I don’t trust my judgment with pregnancy hormones about. But every time I imagine my little girl, I just think [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] now, out of nowhere.

2

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] looks fine, I don’t really see a problem.

I strongly dislike [name]Elspeth[/name], but I like [name]Elisabeth[/name]. The s seems to make it softer and more dainty.

3

See personally, I think [name]Ulysses[/name] and [name]Bishop[/name] read a little bit country anyway. [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] makes [name]Ulysses[/name] and [name]Bishop[/name] friendlier and less imposing. I would choose [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name]. Switching the “z” to an “s” is fine; I prefer the [name]Elisabeth[/name] spelling as well.

4

elrock, thanks for the reassurance!

southern.maple, you’re completely right, they [name]DO[/name] read country, especially [name]Ulysses[/name]. We’d hoped we were avoiding that by not naming the boys [name]Jeremiah[/name] and [name]Joachim[/name] and the like, but looks like we couldn’t escape it.

Thank you so much for your input.

5

I wouldn’t go with [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] – the first thing I thought of when I read it was Macbeth. I think [name]May[/name] [name]Beth[/name] would be much better if you go with that name.

Personally, I prefer [name]Elisabeth[/name] and I do think it honors your grandmother, even if it’s an “s” instead of a “z.” Have you considered using [name]Mary[/name] instead of [name]Mae[/name] and calling her [name]Mary[/name] [name]Beth[/name]? Since you like [name]Annabeth[/name], I thought I’d throw that out there.

I’m not a fan of [name]Elsbeth[/name] or [name]Elspeth[/name] (both look like misspelled versions of [name]Elisabeth[/name] to me). If you want a variation on [name]Elisabeth[/name], I’d go with [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Elise[/name], [name]Elisa[/name], [name]Elisabetta[/name], or [name]Lizbeth[/name].

6

I think that [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] is fine. I didn’t think about the Macbeth thing until you pointed it out. As for the middle name, if you’re leaning towards the [name]Elisabeth[/name] spelling, I would ask your grandmother how she feels about it (and if she’s unavailable, then I would ask your parents). She might be fine with the change in spelling but some people are really sensitive about that and it could hurt her feelings.

7

[name]Gabriela[/name], thanks for the suggestions. [name]Mary[/name] has been a long time favourite, but is still a bit popular and plain for our desires.

I’m both glad and sad to see you made the Macbeth connection, too. [name]Glad[/name] to know it’s not just me, sad to know it might actually be a problem. [name]May[/name] [name]Beth[/name] does look better, but it does seem a little odd to name her after [name]May[/name] if she’s to be born in [name]March[/name]. Also, [name]Mae[/name] on its own looks cooler than [name]May[/name]. Hopefully there’s a solution in sight.

Unfortunately, [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Elise[/name], and [name]Elisa[/name] do not get is to that beth, though they’re all gorgeous names. I do like [name]Lisbeth[/name], though, thank you for the suggestion!

8

[name]Pansy[/name], yay, that’s another who doesn’t seem bothered by Macbeth, that’s lovely to hear.

Granny’s no longer with us, but I will see how the family feels about it, thanks for the thought!

9

Any other thoughts are greatly welcome!

10

I much prefer [name]Mae[/name] to [name]May[/name]. Wouldn’t think “Macbeth” unless I saw [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] written out, and she’ll probably write “[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name]” most of the time and use [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] as her spoken shortened name anyway, right? I think [name]Mab[/name] (like [name]Queen[/name] [name]Mab[/name]) is an incredibly zesty and strong nn option too for a [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name].
I agree with Southern [name]Maple[/name] that it works well with your sons’ names. Gives your sibset a nicely unexpected Appalachian feeling.

11

Oh, [name]Mab[/name], I adore that and would never have thought of it in a million years! Thank you so much for that suggestion. Going to definitely add it to the nn list. I’d been considering Siofra for the longest time because it means faery, but nixed it because neither of us liked the sound of it. This gets to sort of the same meaning in a more clever, literary way.

I like the idea of just writing it out [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name], or even just [name]Mae[/name], and keeping the [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] spoken.

“unexpected Appalachian feeling” hee, I like that, thank you : )

Thank you, emma, I really appreciate the feedback.

12

Personally I think the [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] does look like Macbeth and can understand that being a weird association. But I wonder how often you would write [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name]. I often call my daughters by their first and middle name but rarely write them.
I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with spelling it [name]May[/name]- I have a daughter called [name]May[/name] who was born in February and i actually know two other Mays and neither of them were born in [name]May[/name] either. I don’t think every [name]June[/name] and [name]April[/name] are necessarily born in those months.([name]January[/name] [name]Jones[/name] wasn’t born in [name]January[/name]!)
I love the [name]Elizabeth[/name] with the z or the s although I personally prefer the traditional spelling with the z.
It’s a beautiful name however you decide to spell it.

13

Oops just realised [name]January[/name] jones WAS born in [name]January[/name]! But regardless I don’t think the name [name]May[/name] has to be associated with the month- I think it can stand alone.

14

I like [name]May[/name] better, but I love [name]Elisabeth[/name], especially due to the historical connection ([name]Elisabeth[/name], [name]Empress[/name] of [name]Austria[/name] and Hungary)

15

Didn’t think of Macbeth at all and really love the name [name]Mae[/name]! I do prefer the spelling of [name]May[/name] because it seems prettier to me but understand why you like [name]Mae[/name]. [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name] is really lovely as is [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] or [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elsbeth[/name]/peth. Great name!

16

We have a dear friend who grew up in South [name]Africa[/name], whose name is Elbet. It is a form of [name]Elizabeth[/name]. I’ve never heard of it before meeting her, but I love it, and she is such a lovely person!

17

Thank you so much for the input everyone. All of the comments are extremely helpful, and it’s nice to hear it’s okay to spell the name [name]May[/name] even though she won’t be born in [name]May[/name], if we end up going that direction.

Although, sjwatson, it’s surprising you know so many Mays! I’ve never met any before!

[name]May[/name] [name]Beth[/name] looks more gorgeous than [name]Mae[/name] [name]Beth[/name], but [name]Mae[/name] on its own with that spelling is so fun. You’ve all given me lots to think about!

18

I really like [name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name]. I prefer the S spelling anyway, but if your last name starts with S, I also think it looks better - more connected as a name.

I strongly dislike [name]Elsbeth[/name]. I know an [name]Elspeth[/name] which is OK.

19

I know it’s funny I know three (mine included)- its not a popular name at all here in Australia there just seems to be three of them around me!

20

[name]Mae[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] is pretty.
[name]Maribeth[/name] is also nice.