Griselle
A French name meaning "small gray one", derived from the French word "gris".
Name Census estimates that about 361 living Americans carry the first name Griselle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Griselle today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Griselle births was 1982 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Griselle. 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
361
~ 1 in 949,458 Americans
Peak year
1982
14 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2018 SSA rank
#14,433
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Griselle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Griselle from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 99 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Griselle 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 Griselle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Griselles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Griselle
The given name Griselle is a French variant of the Germanic name Gisela, which ultimately derives from the Old Frankish name Gisilo. The name is composed of two elements: "gis" meaning pledge or hostage, and "hild" meaning battle or combat. It can be interpreted as meaning "pledge of battle" or "hostage in battle".
The name Gisela was popular among the Frankish nobility during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Gisela, the daughter of King Pippin III of the Franks, who lived from around 757 to 810 AD. She married Charlemagne's son, Eberhard, and was known for her piety and charitable works.
In the 11th century, Gisela of Swabia (c. 990 – 1043) was a notable figure. She was the wife of King Stephen I of Hungary and played a significant role in the conversion of Hungary to Christianity. Her influence and devotion earned her the title of "Queen of Hungary".
The name Griselle or Grisela also appears in medieval French literature, notably in the 14th-century French poem "The Romance of the Rose". In this allegorical work, Griselle is depicted as a character representing the virtue of chastity.
Another notable figure with this name was Griselle Delaporte (c. 1500 – c. 1580), a French landowner and businesswoman who managed her family's estates and businesses after being widowed at a young age. She was known for her shrewd business acumen and became a wealthy and influential figure in her region.
In the 16th century, Griselle de Batarnay (c. 1520 – 1575) was a French noblewoman and philanthropist. She was known for her charitable works, including founding a hospital and a school for girls in her hometown of Bourges.
While the name Griselle has been more commonly used in France and other French-speaking regions, it has also been adopted in various forms in other cultures over time, reflecting the rich history and travels of this name.
People
Griselle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Griselle 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
Griselle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Griselle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 361 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Griselle 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 949,458 US residents.
Is Griselle a common name?
We classify Griselle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Griselle most popular?
The single biggest year for Griselle was 1982, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Griselle is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Griselle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Griselle 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.