Grettel
Feminine · “pearl”
Grettel is the Spanish-language spelling of Gretel, which is a German short form of Margarete — and that name means a pearl, by way of Greek and probably an eastern source before it.
How old is the name Grettel?
Grettel first appears in US birth records in 1993 — 32 years ago. The typical Grettel is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Grettel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Grettel most popular?
Grettel peaked in 2018, reaching #2059 nationally. Today it ranks #3832, 1,773 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Where it comes from
From margarites to Grettel
The story of Grettel
German clipped Margarete to Grete and made Gretel from it, and the Grimms' 1812 collection fixed the name in world memory with a story about two children abandoned in a forest. Central American and Mexican naming took Grettel with a doubled t, which is a Spanish-language spelling. It appears in American records with families from Costa Rica and Mexico in particular.
Meaning
pearl
From Greek margarites, a pearl, probably borrowed from an eastern source; Margarete is the German form and Grete and Gretel its short forms. The -el ending is a German diminutive.
How the name formed
- margarites
- Margarete
- Gretel
- Grettel
Related forms: Gretel · Margaret · Margarita
Pronouncing Grettel
GREH-tel
Two syllables, first stressed. Spanish gives both syllables even weight.
Nicknames for Grettel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1993
- Most girls named
- 201894 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2059reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- −51.3%38 in 2025, from 78
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Grettel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gretel in German — spelling variant
- Margaret in English — related form
- Margarita in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Arizona.
Grettels among us
people named Grettel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 42,297 born in 2025 was named Grettel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Grettel
- #3832
- Grettel on the 2025 chart
- #866
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Grettel went to 38 girls in 2025, but Gretel and Grettell are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 94, which makes it the 866th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,966 places above the chart.
- Gretel48
- Grettel38
- Grettell8
About 1 girl in 17,099 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 42,297 for Grettel itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Joli test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Grettel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Joli climbed just as high around 1969, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Joli's path sketches the road Grettel is walking now.
Grettel sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Grettel is headed
Grettel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Grettel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Grettel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning behind one of Europe's great names.
- Greta is a complete short form with its own currency.
- Every letter is sounded, so Spanish speakers read it correctly at once.
- Gretel is the standard German spelling and will be offered as a correction.
- The fairy tale is the first association for nearly everyone.
- Grettel, Gretel and Grethel are all in use and get confused.
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What they receive
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Grettel
Feminine · #3832 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Grettels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Grettel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Grettel?
- Grettel is one of 3 recorded spellings. Gretel is the more common one — 48 births in 2025 against 38 for Grettel.
- How popular is the name Grettel in 2025?
- Grettel ranks #3832 among US girl names in 2025, with 38 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Grettel?
- About 1 in every 42,297 US girls born in 2025 was named Grettel — 38 in all.
- Will my child share the name Grettel with classmates?
- Grettel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Grettel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nohemi#3832 · Yadira#3832 · Quincey#3832 · Yohanna#3832 · Aurielle#3832 · Anslee#3832 · Anagha#3832 · Corrine#3832
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Grettel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Grettel and another name?
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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