Gizelle
A feminine name derived from the French word for gazelle.
Name Census estimates that about 3,020 living Americans carry the first name Gizelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gizelle today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gizelle births was 2005 (206 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gizelle. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gizelle with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.0K
~ 1 in 113,495 Americans
Peak year
2005
206 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,764
Tracked since 1954
Census
Gizelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,573 people with the first name Gizelle, which placed it at #6,268 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
#6,268
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,573 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gizelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gizelle is Hispanic at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and White (11.3%). 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 Gizelle 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 Gizelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.6% · 1,636
- Black or African American15.8% · 407
- White11.3% · 291
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 149
- Two or more races3.2% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Popularity
Gizelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gizelle from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,278 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
Gizelle 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 Gizelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gizelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Gizelle, while Washington, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 131 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gizelle
The name Gizelle finds its origins in the French language, derived from the Germanic name Gisela. This name itself has roots in the Old Frankish word "gisal," meaning a pledge or hostage. The name Gizelle is a variant spelling that emerged in the late Middle Ages.
In the 8th century, Gisela was the name of a daughter of the Frankish king Pepin the Short. She later became a nun and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. This early association with royalty and religious significance likely contributed to the name's popularity in the medieval period.
During the 12th century, the name Gizelle appeared in the writings of the French poet and troubadour Bertran de Born. In his works, Gizelle was portrayed as a beautiful and virtuous woman, further enhancing the name's positive connotations.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Giselle of Massovia (c. 1151 – 1207), a Polish princess and duchess consort of Kalisz. Her legacy as a patron of the arts and charitable endeavors helped to spread the name throughout Central Europe.
In the 16th century, the French composer and choreographer Jean-Baptiste Lully created the renowned ballet "Giselle" in 1841, which featured a peasant girl named Giselle as the tragic heroine. This work popularized the name in France and beyond.
Another notable Gizelle was Gizelle Pascale (1826 – 1895), a French ballerina and one of the most celebrated dancers of her time. She performed the lead role in Lully's "Giselle" and helped to cement the name's association with grace and artistry.
In the 20th century, Gizelle Landes (1908 – 1990) was an American actress and dancer who appeared in numerous films and Broadway productions. Her performances helped to keep the name in the public consciousness.
Throughout its history, the name Gizelle has been imbued with associations of beauty, grace, and strength, owing to its connections with royalty, religious figures, and talented artists and performers. Its French origins and elegant sound have contributed to its enduring appeal across various cultures.
People
Gizelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gizelle 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
Gizelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gizelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,020 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gizelle 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 113,495 US residents.
Is Gizelle a common name?
We classify Gizelle as "Rare". It ranks above 95.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,099 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gizelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Gizelle was 2005, when 206 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gizelle 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 Gizelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,573 people with the name Gizelle, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,268 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 Gizelle 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 Gizelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gizelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,567 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Gizelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gizelle is Hispanic at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and White (11.3%). 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 Gizelle most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gizelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.6% (1,636 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 Gizelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gizelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gizelle 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 Gizelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gizelle 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 Gizelle 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 have the name Gizelle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.