Zelie

Zelie is the unaccented form of French Zélie, a short form of Azélie. One proposed route connects Azélie with Adelaide through the Occitan name Azalaïs, giving an association with nobility. That deeper derivation is less certain than the straightforward relationship between Zélie and Azélie.

Saint Zélie, born Marie-Azélie Guérin, gives the familiar form a specific religious namesake. The French accent helps indicate the vowel sound, while Zelie is often used where accents are omitted in everyday writing or official records. Families can therefore choose between Zelie and Zélie without treating them as names with different meanings or unrelated saint traditions.