Find out how popular the first name Gretl has been for the last 1 years (from 2018 to 2018) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Gretl by gender

Based on the last 1 years of data, Gretl is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 2018, there were 6 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Gretl.

The history of the first name Gretl

The given name Gretl is a German diminutive form of the name Grete, which itself is a short form of the name Margarete. Margarete is derived from the Greek name Margarites, which means "pearl." The name Gretl gained popularity in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in Austria and southern Germany.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gretl can be found in the 1919 autobiography "The Story of My Life" by Gretl Schmidhuber, an Austrian author and educator who lived from 1892 to 1975. In this work, she recounts her experiences growing up in rural Austria during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Another notable figure in history with the name Gretl was Gretl Braun, the sister of Eva Braun, who was the wife of Adolf Hitler. Gretl Braun was born in 1915 and lived until 1987. She was a witness to many events surrounding her sister's relationship with Hitler during the final years of World War II.

In the arts, Gretl was the name of one of the von Trapp children depicted in the 1959 musical and 1965 film "The Sound of Music." The character of Gretl von Trapp was based on the youngest daughter of the real-life von Trapp family, who was born in 1939 and named Maria Franziska.

In the world of literature, Gretl is the name of a character in the classic children's novel "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri, published in 1880. Gretl is the young daughter of the shepherd Petermann and a friend of the titular character Heidi.

Another historical figure with the name Gretl was Gretl Wiesinger, an Austrian skier who competed in the 1936 and 1948 Winter Olympics. She was born in 1917 and passed away in 1998, leaving behind a legacy as one of the pioneering female athletes in alpine skiing.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Gretl was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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