My neighbor (early 40s) is named Betsy. Her mother's name was Elizabeth, nn Betty. Betty had always wished that she was called Betsy, so when she had a daughter she named her Betsy.
Betsy HATES it that her name is Betsy, not Elizabeth. She has always felt that it was a NN, not a "real name." She's spent her whole life explaining to people why her name is Betsy, not Elizabeth.
I do like Betsy as a NN for Elizabeth though if that's what you have in mind. I don't think it sounds too old.
I have to agree, I've known several Betsy's.. from my age (37) to 6 and all of them are Elizabeth (or Elisabeth), nn Betsy. It's a pretty nickname, but doesn't feel like a whole name on it's own. Well.. maybe because I hear it as a nickname fairly often. So I think it's quite pretty, but only as a nickname.
I like it, and know one Betsy who is 5 right now. So I no longer think of it as an "old" name. But I agree that it sounds nn-ish, and would use a longer version, Elizabeth or Elsbeth with Betsy as a NN.
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Betsy HATES it that her name is Betsy, not Elizabeth. She has always felt that it was a NN, not a "real name." She's spent her whole life explaining to people why her name is Betsy, not Elizabeth.
I do like Betsy as a NN for Elizabeth though if that's what you have in mind. I don't think it sounds too old.
EGG
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