Elizabeth

In the Christian tradition

Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist and kinswoman of Mary (Luke 1). Her exclamation at the Visitation ("Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" Luke 1:42) is part of the Hail Mary in Catholic tradition. The name has been in continuous Christian use; Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Saint Elizabeth of Portugal are among the major post-biblical saints to carry the name.

Elizabeth of Luke 1 carries multiple weights in Christian tradition: as the mother of John the Baptist, as the elderly woman of long barrenness now bearing a son in her old age (a parallel to Sarah), and as the kinswoman whose words at the Visitation became the heart of the Hail Mary. The Visitation itself is one of the major Marian feasts in Catholic and Orthodox tradition. Beyond the biblical figure, multiple major post-biblical saints carry the name: Elizabeth of Hungary (thirteenth-century princess and Franciscan tertiary), Elizabeth of Portugal (fourteenth-century queen), and Elizabeth Ann Seton (the first native-born American saint, foundress of the American Sisters of Charity). The name has been in continuous Christian use across all the traditions; modern English-speaking Christian families use it freely in its many forms.