Elisabeth is actually the spelling I prefer. It just looks softer and I appreciate the fact that it's closer to the original name. While I adore
Bess (it's actually my fave nn for
Elizabeth /
Elisabeth),
Bessie is rather bovine-esque to me. WDYT of
Bess? Too similar to
Beth?
Re:
Bertha, good call. I'd change that too! ;-)