Gittel
A feminine diminutive of Gittl, a pet form of Gitte, meaning "good luck".
Name Census estimates that about 1,402 living Americans carry the first name Gittel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gittel today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gittel births was 2024 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gittel. 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.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 244,475 Americans
Peak year
2024
78 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,349
Tracked since 1963
Popularity
Gittel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gittel from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 451 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gittel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gittel 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 Gittel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gittels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gittel
Gittel is a Yiddish diminutive form of the Hebrew name Gittl, which itself is a diminutive of the biblical name Gittit. The name Gittit is derived from the word "Gath," an ancient Philistine city located in what is now Israel. The name Gittit is mentioned in the Bible, particularly in the Book of Samuel and the Psalms, where it is used to refer to a person from the city of Gath or to a type of musical instrument associated with that region.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gittel dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was commonly used among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. The name gained popularity as a way to honor the biblical heritage and cultural identity of Jewish families living in these regions.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Gittel was Gittel of Wolhynia, a 13th-century Jewish scholar and teacher from the region of Volhynia, now part of Ukraine. She was renowned for her expertise in Talmudic studies and her contributions to Jewish education during that period.
In the 16th century, Gittel Heller, also known as Gittl Av Beth Din, was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Krakow, Poland. She was the wife of Rabbi Moses Isserles, one of the most influential Jewish scholars of the time, and played a significant role in supporting his work and promoting Jewish education.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gittel Kolbert, a 17th-century Jewish philanthropist and community leader from Amsterdam. She was known for her charitable efforts and her support for Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in various parts of Europe.
In the 19th century, Gittel Baumritter was a renowned Yiddish writer and activist from Russia. She was a pioneer in the development of Yiddish literature and a vocal advocate for women's rights and education within the Jewish community.
Finally, Gittel Bat-Yahudah was a 20th-century Israeli artist and sculptor. Born in Germany in 1901, she emigrated to Palestine (now Israel) in the 1930s and became known for her innovative sculptures and installations, many of which reflected her Jewish heritage and the cultural influences of her time.
People
Gittel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gittel 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
Gittel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gittel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gittel 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 244,475 US residents.
Is Gittel a common name?
We classify Gittel as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,433 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gittel most popular?
The single biggest year for Gittel was 2024, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gittel is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gittel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gittel 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.
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.