Gissella
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "youthful" or "pledged to God".
Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Gissella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gissella today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gissella births was 2000 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gissella. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gissella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
82
~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans
Peak year
2000
10 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,015
Tracked since 1995
Census
Gissella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 250 people with the first name Gissella, which placed it at #33,212 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,212
National first-name rank
People counted
250
250 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gissella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gissella is Hispanic at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gissella described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gissella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.0% · 240
- White4.0% · 10
Popularity
Gissella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gissella from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gissella by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gissella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gissella
The name Gissella has its roots in the Germanic languages, originating from the Old High German word "gisal," meaning "hostage" or "pledge." This name was likely first given to children who were born during a time of conflict or political tension, serving as a symbol of peace or a guarantee between warring parties.
In the early medieval period, the name Gissella was particularly popular among the Frankish and Burgundian nobility. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Carolingian dynasty, where a Princess Gissella lived in the 8th century. She was the daughter of Pepin the Short, the first Carolingian king of the Franks.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Gissella was adopted by various noble families across Europe. In the 11th century, a noblewoman named Gissella of Merseburg was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire. She was the wife of Count Dedi I of Merseburg and played an influential role in the political affairs of her time.
Another notable figure bearing this name was Gissella of Burgundy, a 12th-century princess who was married to King Conrad III of Germany. Her marriage helped strengthen the alliance between the German and Burgundian kingdoms, solidifying her place in history.
In the 13th century, a woman named Gissella di Camino was a prominent figure in the Republic of Venice. She was a member of the powerful Camino family and was known for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in the political affairs of the city-state.
Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, a woman named Gissella Baglioni was a celebrated painter and poet during the Italian Renaissance. Born in Perugia in 1528, she was renowned for her artistic talents and her contributions to the cultural life of the city.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Gissella throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods. Despite its ancient origins, the name Gissella continues to be used today, carrying with it a rich tapestry of historical significance.
People
Gissella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gissella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gissella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gissella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gissella going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,179,931 US residents.
Is Gissella a common name?
We classify Gissella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gissella most popular?
The single biggest year for Gissella was 2000, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gissella is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gissella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 250 people with the name Gissella, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,212 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gissella in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gissella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gissella leans strongly female. 256 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gissella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gissella is Hispanic at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gissella most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gissella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (240 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gissella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gissella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gissella in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gissella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gissella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gissella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Gissella?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.