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webpage by Lynne Sueoka

Date: Fri, 27 Jun 1997 11:40:31 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Liz Exton
To: Patricia Weeg
Subject: Re: Name Game

My name is Katharine Elizabeth. When I was little I was always called Elizabeth because Katharine is my mother's name and it would have been confusing to have two Katharines. These days I am always called Liz.

1. How did I get my name?
   My parents and my grandmother chose my name.
2. Why did you choose my name?
   My family was looking for a traditional name which wouldn't go out of fashion.
3. What religion is my name from?
   My name is Hebrew. Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the Old Testament or Jewish Bible.
4. What does my name mean?
   I always believed that my name meant "gift of God", but alphabet zoope says it means "God's oath". I suppose that isn't too different because one famous gift from God was the rainbow, which was a symbol of his oath not to send another flood.
5. Did any relaties have my name? Which ones?
   My cousin is Margaret Elizabeth. My family tree goes back to the 1740's (so far!) and there are about five or six Elizabeths and Elizas.
6. Who gave me my name?
   My mother wanted to call me Elizabeth Sarah, but my grandmother, who was a bit of a snob, thought that Sarah was "a maid's name". They compromised on Katharine Elizabeth, but my mum won in the end because my sister is called Sarah Jane!
7. Is my name multi-cultural?
   Elizabeth is fairly multi-cultural because it comes from the Bible and can be found in all the countries where there are Jews or Christians. There are many different forms of the name Elizabeth; Lisa, Liza, Leesa, Liz, Betsy, Bessie, Beth..... and so on. In my work I have had to deal with people from all over Europe. They all find my name, Liz, easy to remember and to spell!
8. How old is my name?
   My name is very old, because it comes from the Old Testament.
9. Is there any physical background to my name (like places connected with it)
   There is a Port Elizabeth in South Africa (33.58S 25.40E). In Zaire in Africa
   there is a city called Lubumbashi which is also known as Elizabethville (11.32S 27.38E)
   There's a city called Elizabeth in New Jersey USA (40.37N 74.12W) and an Elizabeth City in N. Carolina (36.18N 76.16W).
   There are several other cities called Elizabethton and Elizabethtown in the USA.
   There is also a city in South Australia called Elizabeth (34.45S 138.39W). It's quite close to where Emma lives.
10. Can you tell me an interesting story about my name?
    I was born in Britain, where we have had two Queens called Elizabeth. This makes my name very popular with British people. There were two other Elizabeths in my class at school.
    I once had an Indian penfriend who wrote that he was very happy to have a penfriend with the same name as the Queen of England!
    Liz Taylor is also British and has the same first name as me.
11. What are your feelings about my name?
    On the whole I like my name. Nobody has any trouble saying it or spelling it. My parents were right - it is the kind of name which never really goes out of fashion. My husband is called David (another Bible name) and we like the way our names go together.
    Sometimes I think my name is a bit boring, but I can't imagine being called anything else.
12. If you could change your name, what name would you pick?
    I have always wondered if my name was say... Jacinta then would my life be different? I mean would I have these parents or would I play the Piano?