The form Bezlea was first recorded by Polish historian and theologian Jan Łasicki in his treatise on idolatry De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorum, written ca. 1582 and published in 1615, while Polish historian Theodor Narbutt referred to her as Bezelea in his work Dzieje starożytne narodu litewskiego, written between 1835 and 1841.
Both forms are Latinizations; the original form, if there ever was one, is lost, however a Lithuanian form has since been reconstructed: Bežlėja.
It has been suggested that Bežlėja might be derived from Lithuanian blista "to darken; to get dark".
Since neither Łasicki nor Narbutt were intimately familiar with Lithuanian culture or language, the academic opinion on the value of their documents ranges from a valuable resource to a practical joke.
Among Christians, this name was originally more common in Eastern Europe. It was borne in the 12th century by Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a daughter of King Andrew II who used her wealth to help the poor. In medieval England it was occasionally used in honour of the saint, though the form Isabel (from Occitan and Spanish) was more common. It has been very popular in England since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century. In American name statistics (as recorded since 1880) it has never ranked lower than 30, making it the most consistently popular name for girls in the United States.
Besides Elizabeth I, this name has been borne (in various spellings) by many other European royals, including a ruling empress of Russia in the 18th century. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011).
This is the usual form of the name Elizabeth in Spain and Portugal, though elsewhere it is considered a parallel name, such as in France where it is used alongside Élisabeth. The name was borne by two Spanish ruling queens, including Isabel of Castile, who sponsored the explorations of Christopher Columbus.
In the United States this form was much less common than Isabel until the early 1990s, when it began rapidly rising in popularity. It reached a peak in 2009 and 2010, when it was the most popular name for girls in America, an astounding rise over only 20 years.
A famous bearer is the Italian actress Isabella Rossellini (1952-).
The name was popularized through the Mexican singer and actress Litzy Domínguez known by her first given name.
In Georgia, there might also be cases where the name is a georgianization of the English names Lizzie and Lizzy.
A notable bearer of this name is the Georgian singer Lizi Pop (b. 2004), whose real name is Liza Japaridze.
A famous bearer was the American jazz musician Nina Simone (1933-2003).