Gitzel
A Yiddish name derived from the German name Gitel, meaning "good luck."
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Gitzel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gitzel today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gitzel births was 2005 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gitzel. 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 Gitzel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
2005
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2015 SSA rank
#17,382
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Gitzel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gitzel from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 45 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
Gitzel 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 Gitzel 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 Gitzel
The name Gitzel has its origins in the Yiddish language, which was spoken by Ashkenazi Jews primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. It is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Gittl, which itself is a shortened version of the Hebrew name Gittel, derived from the word "gittah" meaning "wine press."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gitzel can be traced back to the 16th century in areas such as Poland, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. It was a popular name among Jewish communities in these regions and was often used as a way to honor the biblical figure of Ruth, whose name in Hebrew (Rut) is related to the word "re'ut," meaning friend or companion.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Gitzel was Gitzel Weinreich (c. 1550-1620), a Jewish scholar and author from Kraków, Poland, who wrote extensively on religious and ethical topics. Another notable figure was Gitzel Margolis (1761-1848), a renowned Talmudic scholar and teacher from Vilna, Lithuania, whose works were widely studied in Jewish academic circles.
In the 19th century, the name Gitzel gained some prominence outside of Jewish communities. Gitzel Kolb (1813-1884) was a German-American pioneer and one of the first settlers in the town of Fredericksburg, Texas, where she played a significant role in the establishment of the local community.
Another individual with this name was Gitzel Mandelstamm (1875-1942), a Russian-born Jewish artist and painter who was part of the influential Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) movement in St. Petersburg. Her works, which often depicted scenes from Jewish life, are now held in various museums and private collections around the world.
Gitzel Zylberman (1896-1973), a Polish-born Yiddish actress and theater director, was also a notable figure in the realm of Yiddish theater and culture. She founded the Yiddish Theater in Łódź, Poland, and later emigrated to Israel, where she continued her work in promoting and preserving Yiddish theatrical traditions.
While the name Gitzel has become less common in modern times, it remains an important part of Jewish cultural heritage and serves as a reminder of the rich linguistic and historical traditions of the Yiddish-speaking communities of Central and Eastern Europe.
People
Gitzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gitzel 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
Gitzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gitzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gitzel 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 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Gitzel a common name?
We classify Gitzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gitzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Gitzel was 2005, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gitzel is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Gitzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gitzel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gitzel 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 Gitzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gitzel 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 Gitzel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Gitzel?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Gitzel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.