Grethel
A feminine name of German origin, a diminutive form of Grete, meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the first name Grethel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Grethel today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Grethel births was 1921 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Grethel. 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
290
~ 1 in 1,181,912 Americans
Peak year
1921
20 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,772
Tracked since 1904
Census
Grethel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 732 people with the first name Grethel, which placed it at #15,649 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
#15,649
National first-name rank
People counted
732
732 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grethel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grethel is Hispanic at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.3%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Grethel 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 Grethel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.4% · 559
- White11.3% · 83
- Black or African American7.1% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 35
- Two or more races0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Grethel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Grethel from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Grethel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Grethel 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 Grethel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Grethels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, California recorded the most babies named Grethel, while West Virginia, Arkansas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Grethel
The name Grethel is a diminutive form of the German name Gretchen, which itself is a pet form of the name Margarete, derived from the Greek name Margarites, meaning "pearl." The name Grethel is primarily associated with the fairy tale "Hansel and Grethel" by the Brothers Grimm, which was first published in 1812.
The earliest recorded use of the name Grethel can be traced back to the Middle Ages in German-speaking regions of Europe. It was particularly popular in areas such as Bavaria and Saxony, where it was used as a nickname or affectionate form of Margarete.
While the name Grethel does not have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its root name Margarete has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Saint Margaret of Antioch, a semi-legendary virgin martyr who lived in the 3rd or 4th century AD.
Among the most famous individuals named Grethel is the character from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Grethel." The story, which follows the adventures of two children who outwit a wicked witch, has been a beloved part of children's literature since its publication in the early 19th century.
Another notable figure with the name Grethel was Margarethe von Trotta, a German filmmaker and actress born in 1942. She is known for directing acclaimed films such as "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" and "Marianne and Juliane."
In the field of literature, Grete Weil, a German author born in 1906, wrote several novels and short stories exploring themes of Jewish identity and the experience of exile during the Nazi era.
Grethel Leede, born in 1879, was a Dutch artist and sculptor known for her innovative use of materials such as concrete and her contributions to the Amsterdam School of architecture.
Finally, Grete Mosheim, born in 1905, was a German actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the Weimar Republic and Nazi eras.
People
Grethel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Grethel 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
Grethel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Grethel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Grethel 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 1,181,912 US residents.
Is Grethel a common name?
We classify Grethel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 625 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Grethel most popular?
The single biggest year for Grethel was 1921, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Grethel is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Grethel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 732 people with the name Grethel, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,649 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 Grethel 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 Grethel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Grethel appears almost entirely female. Of the 732 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Grethel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grethel is Hispanic at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.3%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Grethel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Grethel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (559 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 Grethel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Grethel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Grethel 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 Grethel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Grethel 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 Grethel 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 common is the name Grethel?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Grethel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.