Unusual nn for Elisabeth?

[BarbaraManatee]

We quite like the name Elisabeth but can't agree on a nickname for it. Our surname begins with a B so that rules out several of them. We're not keen on overly cute/girly names. Plus I'm related to a Liz, an Eliza & a Lily...

Would it be too "out there" to call her Elis? It's a Welsh which I am spelling of Ellis & traditionally masculine but there was a female Brazilian singer called Elis Regina so I feel it's not completely without precedent...

It can also be traced back to being Biblical, which is one of the reasons we're looking at Elisabeth/Elizabeth in the first place. According to various baby name websites, Ellis is an anglicised form of Elias which is a Greek form of Elijah.

Plus, her middle name would most likely be Alice, so it would sound like an amalgamation of her first & middle names.

And, I like that it would sound similar to Emily Brontë's pseudonym with our surname, but probably not similar enough for anyone else to notice!

The only negative I can think of is people saying "but that's a boy's name". We got that occasionally after one of our DSs' was born & his name was most definitely masculine in the Bible but does sometimes get used for girls. The contrary side of me actually rather likes the idea of confusing people the other way round too...

presumably she's a baby so why not wait till she's old enough to like/accept a nickname?!

If you start calling her Elis most people will just follow suit. You don't need to explain it, just introduce her as Elis from the get go. But if you prefer Elis to Elisabeth you could always just call get that on the birth cert too. But I bet you're one of those 'options' people 😉

Libby is a nice shortening too.

Bet, Betty, Betsy, Libby, Liz, Lizzie

I dont think Ellis is a natural nn of elisabeth, its a very different sound.

Lil?
Lis?
Lils?

As above tho, just wait and see what forms.

I thought nicknames happened organically. Why not just see what happens. She may not want/like her name shortened.

I know an Elisabeth shortened to Eli. I do like Elis too.

I like Betty but you can plan nicknames, they just happen!

I have an aunt Liddy!

Nicknames evolve, you can't choose them!

Libby is lovely

Elise?

You can call your child pretty much whatever you like without reference to anyone else however you are not picking a name for a baby.

You are picking a name for a grown up and that grown up may have entirely different taste in nicknames to you.

She might decide to be Lizzie or Lillibet or Lisa.

My DS seriously dislikes the usual nickname for his name (which we thought was lovely) and politely asks people not to use it.

We planned to use a particular nickname for DD and somehow ended up calling her something completely unrelated to her name. Her school friends use a third nickname.

I'm known by 4 different nicknames depending on which group of family, friends or colleagues you are talking to, none of which my parents ever envisaged as possibilities.

In summary, call her Elis if you like but bear in mind it might not stick.

We use elsabeth/elsa as shortening a of elisabeth, probably because DD is going through a frozen phase at the moment.

Also like lisbeth

Most people will copy you.

Elizabeth is great because of the massive range of nicknames. Betsy Betty Bess Lizzie Beth Elle and I can see your nick name would be great too.

I like Betty, Betsy, Libby and Beth. I wouldn't think of Elis tbh, but it does make sense.

Agree with pps though; I wouldn't count on it sticking, as she could hate it when she's older.

I know two babies who get introduced by their nns, which their parents selected for them and tbh, it sounds a little bit silly / wanky to me... though that's maybe down to the parents in question.

I do wonder what the babies will say when they're older and if they will pick the trendy nns their parents have chosen, or the (nicer imo), classic full names. I guess that's the nice thing though- they have options!

Extraordinary thought process!
I don't know whether it's more controlling, more pedantic or more unimaginative to assume you will be able to dictate the shortening that other people will use for your daughter. Nicknames arrive organically, stemming from appearances, coincidences, events that you cannot predict. She might be Toosh or Curly or Sydney or anything, or have five nicknames.
I find this pre-nicknaming so odd. Is it a British thing?

Bitta. The girls in question both have Polish/German/Czech ancestry (2 out of 3 in each case).

People are so damn rude on this forum! I really don't know why people are so against the fact that some people like to think about nicknames as part of the naming process! I can see why you'd think about it as Elisabeth is a long name. If you think you'd like to call her Elis then go for it! But be prepared for other nns to emerge and possibly become used more often.

I think it's bizarre that people choose nicknames before a child is even born! My sister is Elizabeth and that's what I call her. A friend of hers calls her Liz but that isn't who she is to me. My mum is also Elizabeth but gets called Elsie.

I find this pre-nicknaming so odd. Is it a British thing?
It's a MN thing and I agree,it's really odd. This is not what a nick name is.

I know an Elizabeth who goes by Eliz, so I think Elis is fine short for Elisabeth.

Others I know go by Buffy, Lissie/Lissa and Liesl.

Aren't you talking about the difference between a nickname and shortening though?

It is very common for people to announce they have named their child Benjamin which they are shortening to Ben. Less common to announce "his nickname is Benjie"

A relative of mine was called Zabbie as a nn for Elizabeth.

Call her Lilibet, like the Queen.

We chose our daughter's name with consideration to all of the possible nicknames (that we could think of!) to make sure that there weren't any truly awful ones that she could get teased about.

We currently call her something completely unrelated to her name.

I can almost guarantee that if you choose Elisabeth in order to shorten it to Elis, you will never ever call her Elis. Sorry.

Elspeth