| Eliza | Joanna | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is my oath | God is gracious |
| Origin | Hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ih-LY-zuh | joh-AN-uh |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2021 (2,484) | 1984 (3,332) |
| In 2025 | 2,370 | 997 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Eliza | Joanna |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 14,227 | 6,139 |
| 2010s | 17,726 | 11,409 |
| 2000s | 9,608 | 12,970 |
| 1990s | 4,750 | 16,287 |
| 1980s | 2,774 | 22,216 |
| 1970s | 1,725 | 15,281 |
| 1960s | 1,007 | 9,196 |
| 1950s | 1,057 | 5,151 |
| 1940s | 1,391 | 4,709 |
| 1930s | 1,817 | 3,914 |
| 1920s | 3,227 | 2,233 |
| 1910s | 3,289 | 1,186 |
| 1900s | 2,397 | 391 |
| 1890s | 2,723 | 389 |
| 1880s | 2,851 | 290 |
A short form of Elizabeth, from the Hebrew, “God is my oath.”
From Greek Ioanna, the feminine of Ioannes (John), ultimately from Hebrew 'Yochanan' meaning 'Yahweh is gracious.' A New Testament name and a John-root grace name.
Eliza is more popular than Joanna today: about 2,370 US babies were given the name Eliza in 2025, compared with 997 named Joanna.
Eliza means God is my oath (Hebrew origin), while Joanna means God is gracious (hebrew origin).
In US records, Eliza first appears in 1880 and Joanna in 1880, so Eliza has the longer recorded history.