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I think Elizabeth is one of the most perfect girls names there is- Elizabeth, Katherine and Margaret are my list of perfect girls names, with Alice and Mary sometimes on and sometimes off. My criteria: lots of history and namesakes, lots of nickname options (this is where Alice and Mary fall down), beautiful, classic, unmistakably feminine yet truly strong in a way Micah and Ryan fail to be. It can get a little common/boring, though, especially when they all go by Liz, rather than using some of the other options.

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Personally, I love the B nicknames. Bess is my favourite. I also adore Betty, Betsy and Bette. Beth is quite nice, but I don't like it as much. Elisa and Lisa (I say both with a Z sound) are beautiful. Cat Stephens's 'Sad Lisa' made me fall in love with that name. Eliza and Liza are spunky and awesome. Lily is nifty.

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My father told me the other day that if he'd named me Elizabeth (he loved it but he and Jan decided to honour their sisters and go with Sarah Elaine- he also pointed out he couldn't have named me Elizabeth Elaine and Jan really wanted to honour her sister), my nickname would have been Lizbeth. I was sort of fond of it before but it's really growing on me now. Of course, it's kind of a long nickname and I probably would have been Elizabeth nn Lizbeth nn Bette.