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I prefer the z, but it's ok w/ the s as well. Not a fan of Bessie (makes me think of a cow). Betsy and Beth are both nice. Would't blame your grandma for changing her name. Prob'ly a good call.

I love Elisabeth, and my fave nickname is Bess (Bessie is too cow-ish for me).

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?

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Re: Bertha, good call. I'd change that too! ;-)

I'm Elizabeth, and my nicknames have always been Bitsy, Lizel, and Liza.

I love the name Elisabeth! It's gorgeous! Elisabeth is way better than Elizabeth. I don't like the nn Bessie for it, I prefer Beth, but since that's taken I'd used Elise or Elle.

I LOVE Elisabeth, and don't like Elizabeth much. I think I just don't like Z's, they seem harsh to me. Bessie to totally cute! I love Izzy too as a nickname.

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This message was edited 6/30/2010, 6:31 AM

I love it, it's my favorite spelling!
The only nns I like is Lise and Betty.

I prefer Elizabeth, perhaps because of my love of Lizzie and Eliza as nicknames. Of course, Elizabeth/Elisabeth is such a gorgeous, classic name, you really couldn't go wrong with either spelling.

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Bessie is all "Bessie the Cow" to me, and I don't like it at all (although I do like just Bess). For an Elisabeth, I'd rather see Elise, Elisa, Lily, or Betsy.

I love it and I prefer this spelling! I only like one nn for it though; Elise.

I absolutely adore it, but only spelled with a Z. I dislike the way it looks with an S. It's awkward and just looks incorrect to me. And it makes me want to pronounce it e-LISS-a-beth or e-LEE-sa-beth. Spelled the way I like, it's so wonderfully classic, white, and open. I love the way it flows off your tongue, and it's sophisticated and literary. I'd easily name my daughter Elizabeth.

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I do like Bessie. It's really cute.

I really like it =). I like both spellings. My favourite nn for it is Eliza. I'm not real fond of Bessie.

I do prefer Elisabeth to Elizabeth and I like it. Bessie is ok, but I like Betsy better. This is my great great grandmother's name. :)

I much prefer a z, and I do applaud Grant's gran for ditching Bertha (which was my MIL's name, but she didn't come from an English naming tradition so we can excuse her).

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I don't enjoy Bessie, but Betsy is energetic and cheerful and goes with a swing. Or there's Bethan or Betsan.

I like Elisabeth, it's very soft and refined and though I personally prefer Elizabeth, it's a beautiful name. I wouldn't be sad to see a little Elisabeth walking around, that's for sure. =] Still, I'm too fond of Bessie, though Bess is cute. Personally if I had a strong reason to use Elisabeth I'd probably call her Lisa sometimes as an unofficial nickname to honor my best friend, Lisa. That's just me though, there's tons of nicknames for Elisabeth/Elizabeth that I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I like the name, but prefer the spelling Elizabeth and either with Lizzie or Eliza as the nn. Elisabeth nn Bessie is quite sweet though.

I much prefer Elisabeth to Elizabeth.

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I don't like the NN Bessie, but Bess is kind of cool. Personally, I like Elise, Lisa, and Liz for NN's.

I much prefer the Elisabeth spelling, because it's much softer looking than Elizabeth. Reguardless of spelling, it's a beautiful, classic name that ages well. However, I really dislike Bessie- it reminds me of a cliche cow name (like Clover or Daisy).

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Some other nn suggestions:
Eli
Elle
Ella
Ellie
Elsie
Elsa
Libby
Elise
Lisa
Lise
Liss / Lissy
Bette / Betsy
Ebby

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Assuming that you guys are fond of your relative, why not use Elisabeth/Elizabeth nn Beth to honor her?