Elżbieta
A name nearly everyone in Poland has met, carried by over 400,000 women, but handed down to fewer girls with each passing year. At root it's Hebrew: "my God is an oath".
Elżbieta Pronunciation
Elżbieta is pronounced elzhb-YE-tah (/ɛlʐbˈjɛta/).
What Elżbieta means
Where Elżbieta comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Elżbieta comes from the Hebrew Elisheva, and its old meaning reads as "my God is an oath." The El at the front names God, the same element found in Michał and Gabriel. In the Book of Exodus, Elisheva is the wife of Aaron, and hers is one of the earliest lives tied to the name.
From Hebrew the name passed into Greek and Latin, then across Europe. English made Elizabeth, French shaped Élisabeth, and the Slavic east gave Yelizavieta, a variant a Polish reader knows from Russian. Each language kept the oath and reworked the sound.
In Poland it shortens fast. Ela and Elka do the everyday work. On a school register the full Elżbieta stands in one column, while classmates reach for Ela in the next breath.
When Elżbieta celebrates name day
Elżbieta appears 13 times in the Polish name day calendar, 4 of them as a main name, the first on 18 June.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
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in 71 days4 JanuaryMonday in 2027
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in 118 days20 FebruarySaturday in 2027
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in 252 days4 JulySunday in 2027
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in 293 days14 AugustSaturday in 2027
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in 361 days21 OctoberThursday in 2027
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in 15 days9 NovemberMonday in 2026
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in 20 days14 NovemberSaturday in 2026
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in 23 days17 NovemberTuesday in 2026
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in 31 days25 NovemberWednesday in 2026
How many people are named Elżbieta
1 in 55 women in Poland is named Elżbieta. 410,042 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #18 among female names.
Elżbieta's popularity over time
96 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #252 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #18 name among living women, even as it slips to #252 among newborns.
Where parents choose Elżbieta
Elżbieta is most popular in Masovian, 51% above the national average (251 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Silesian (+41%) and Lower Silesian (+25%). It is least common in Holy Cross and Subcarpathian, 65% and 58% below average respectively.
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Masovian
+51%1 in 1,411 babies
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Silesian
+41%1 in 1,507 babies
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Lower Silesian
+25%1 in 1,708 babies
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Holy Cross
−65%1 in 6,159 babies
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Subcarpathian
−58%1 in 5,024 babies
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Lubusz
−49%1 in 4,138 babies
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Masovian+51% 251 born1 in 1,411 babies+51%
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Silesian+41% 151 born1 in 1,507 babies+41%
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Lower Silesian+25% 92 born1 in 1,708 babies+25%
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Pomeranian+13% 78 born1 in 1,889 babies+13%
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Greater Poland−2% 99 born1 in 2,174 babies−2%
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Podlaskie−9% 28 born1 in 2,350 babies−9%
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West Pomeranian−12% 35 born1 in 2,412 babies−12%
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Lublin−17% 40 born1 in 2,567 babies−17%
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Lesser Poland−20% 85 born1 in 2,670 babies−20%
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Warmian-Masurian−20% 27 born1 in 2,659 babies−20%
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Opole−21% 17 born1 in 2,711 babies−21%
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Łódź−33% 40 born1 in 3,168 babies−33%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−47% 27 born1 in 4,051 babies−47%
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Lubusz−49% 12 born1 in 4,138 babies−49%
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Subcarpathian−58% 24 born1 in 5,024 babies−58%
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Holy Cross−65% 9 born1 in 6,159 babies−65%
Elżbieta as a middle name
Elżbieta is a first name for 410,042 women in Poland and a middle name for another 312,408, a 57/43 split, almost evenly. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 8th, between Małgorzata (332,804) and Magdalena (301,969).
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#6 Teresa354,803
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#7 Małgorzata332,804
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#8 Elżbieta312,408
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#9 Magdalena301,969
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#10 Agnieszka275,512