Lily as a nn for Elizabeth?
What is the history of Lily as a nickname for Elizabeth? I just recently heard that it was considered a nn for Elizabeth, and I was wondering on the "acceptability" of it...
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the queen ...Didn't Queen Elizabeth get called Lily/Lilybet for short?I suppose it came about the same way as Millicent (Milly),
Matilda (Tilly), William (Billy) etcPerse
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This message was edited 11/11/2004, 3:46 AM

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Yes, I've read that Lilibet was how her early attempts at her own name came out, so that became her nickname.
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However only Louis Mountbatten (from memory) got way with calling her that after she became Queen.
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My friend spells it Lilli - she's Elizabeth Josephine, but more importantly she's the third child in the family, and her elder siblings called her Lilli as their best attempt at Elizabeth. Which is probably how many if not most nicknames (= short forms) arose...
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Lillian was definitely a nn for Elizabeth at first: in 1279 Lilion was recorded in England. In 1296 Lylie was recorded as a diminutive of Elizabeth. (See http://snipurl.com/a2vp for both, they're the last two names.)So I don't see why Lily can't be a nn for Elizabeth, though personally I think Lily stands fine enough on its own, since its common use didn't evolve from it being a nn name.Miranda
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I've always heard Elizabeths being called Lily or Lili, so I think it's totally acceptable :)
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I would guess they got it out the LI bit.
I think Lily is a great nn for Elizabeth. My sister is called Elizabeth and is sometimes called Lily/Lilybet.- Kitty
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