Gretel
- Gender
- Girl
- Origin
- Germanic
- US rank, 2025
- #3,249 for girls
Gretel is a girls' name of Germanic origin. In 2025 it ranked 3,249th for girls in the US (48 babies).
What does Gretel mean?
Germanic
A diminutive of the female given name Margarete, from German.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Gretel a girl's or a boy's name?
Gretel is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 48 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Gretel in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2014, with 11 girls.
Half of all the girls named Gretel in the UK since 1996 were born between 2007 and 2015. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Gretel in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4 | #4,870 |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 3 | #5,896 |
| 2017 | 5 | #4,250 |
| 2016 | 8 | #3,105 |
| 2015 | 8 | #3,114 |
| 2014 | 11 | #2,462 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 6 | #3,881 |
| 2011 | 6 | #3,737 |
| 2010 | 6 | #3,715 |
| 2009 | 3 | #5,801 |
| 2008 | 6 | #3,589 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,858 |
| 2006 | 9 | #2,451 |
| 2005 | 4 | #4,150 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 4 | #3,427 |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 4 | #3,289 |
How popular is Gretel in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,249th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 48 about 1 in 33,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 48 girls in the US were named Gretel, making it the 3,249th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,498th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 68 girls. It first appears in the records in 1915.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Gretel than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Gretel in the US since 1880 were born between 1979 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 94 girls in the US were given Gretel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,772, up from #3,249 for this spelling alone.
Gretel in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48 | #3,249 |
| 2024 | 49 | #3,225 |
| 2023 | 50 | #3,225 |
| 2022 | 68 | #2,579 |
| 2021 | 49 | #3,250 |
| 2020 | 43 | #3,498 |
| 2019 | 40 | #3,717 |
| 2018 | 45 | #3,437 |
| 2017 | 41 | #3,696 |
| 2016 | 57 | #2,934 |
| 2015 | 36 | #4,068 |
| 2014 | 63 | #2,737 |
| 2013 | 46 | #3,402 |
| 2012 | 37 | #4,046 |
| 2011 | 37 | #3,998 |
| 2010 | 33 | #4,396 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,535 |
| 2008 | 19 | #6,796 |
| 2007 | 15 | #8,094 |
| 2006 | 20 | #6,354 |
| 2005 | 20 | #5,994 |
| 2004 | 20 | #5,965 |
| 2003 | 21 | #5,581 |
| 2002 | 14 | #7,438 |
| 2001 | 22 | #5,169 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,202 |
| 1999 | 9 | #9,472 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,254 |
| 1997 | 12 | #7,278 |
| 1996 | 10 | #8,127 |
| 1995 | 9 | #8,761 |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,666 |
| 1993 | 6 | #11,773 |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,241 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 10 | #7,106 |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,320 |
| 1986 | 8 | #7,745 |
| 1985 | 12 | #5,676 |
| 1984 | 10 | #6,290 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,456 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,222 |
| 1981 | 13 | #5,253 |
| 1980 | 15 | #4,742 |
| 1979 | 20 | #3,776 |
| 1978 | 7 | #7,647 |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,811 |
| 1975 | 11 | #5,159 |
| 1974 | 15 | #4,040 |
| 1973 | 11 | #4,869 |
| 1972 | 9 | #5,479 |
| 1971 | 13 | #4,309 |
| 1970 | 6 | #7,069 |
| 1969 | 10 | #4,722 |
| 1968 | 11 | #4,221 |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,299 |
| 1966 | 8 | #4,865 |
| 1965 | 8 | #4,830 |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,008 |
| 1963 | 9 | #4,538 |
| 1962 | 9 | #4,532 |
| 1961 | 10 | #4,238 |
| 1960 | 6 | #5,695 |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 5 | #6,102 |
| 1957 | 10 | #3,929 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 12 | #3,376 |
| 1954 | 5 | #5,751 |
| 1953 | 7 | #4,594 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,482 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 5 | #5,299 |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 5 | #5,293 |
| 1946 | 5 | #4,958 |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,844 |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,347 |
| 1939 | 9 | #2,920 |
| 1938 | 6 | #3,845 |
| 1937 | 9 | #2,939 |
| 1936 | 7 | #3,374 |
| 1935 | 5 | #4,202 |
| 1934 | 8 | #3,157 |
| 1933 | 5 | #4,216 |
| 1932 | 10 | #2,829 |
| 1931 | 5 | #4,329 |
| 1930 | 5 | #4,548 |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 5 | #4,723 |
| 1927 | 10 | #3,051 |
| 1926 | 5 | #4,849 |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 5 | #5,007 |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 6 | #4,396 |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,249 |
| 1918 | 0 | – |
| 1917 | 0 | – |
| 1916 | 0 | – |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,433 |
Names like Gretel
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Willow, Freya, Scarlett, Amelie, Zara, Harper, Lily, Isla, Myla, Tilly, Lyra, Ivy
Other spellings of Gretel
Names related to Gretel
More Germanic names
Amelia, Liam, Henry, Charlotte, William, Archie, Charlie, Emma, Freddie, Ella, Harry, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Louie, Miles
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Gretel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/gretel, updated 20 October 2026.