Gisela
Gisela is a German feminine name meaning "pledge" or "hostage".
Name Census estimates that about 3,875 living Americans carry the first name Gisela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gisela today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gisela births was 1995 (160 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gisela. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gisela with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 88,453 Americans
Peak year
1995
160 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,302
Tracked since 1915
Census
Gisela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,799 people with the first name Gisela, which placed it at #2,100 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
#2,100
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,799 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
66.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gisela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gisela is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.0%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Gisela 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 Gisela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.8% · 8,550
- White31.0% · 3,966
- Black or African American0.9% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 99
- Two or more races0.4% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 10
Popularity
Gisela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gisela from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 909 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gisela 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 Gisela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Giselas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Gisela, while Maryland, New Jersey, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 312 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gisela
The name Gisela has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically from the Old Germanic masculine name Gisilhari or Gisilher, which was composed of the elements "gisil" meaning hostage or pledge, and "hari" meaning army or warrior. It is believed that the name emerged during the Migration Period in Europe, around the 5th to 8th centuries AD, when various Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Vandals, and Franks were on the move across the continent.
The name Gisela first gained prominence among the Frankish nobility during the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Gisela, the daughter of King Lothar II of Lotharingia, who lived from 820 to 858 AD. She was a pivotal figure in the political intrigues of her time and played a significant role in shaping the alliances between the Carolingian rulers.
Another notable Gisela was the Queen of Hungary, who lived from around 985 to 1065 AD. She was the wife of King Stephen I of Hungary and played a crucial role in the Christianization of the Hungarian kingdom. Her efforts in promoting the spread of Christianity earned her the title of "Apostolic Queen" and sainthood in the Catholic Church.
The name Gisela also appeared in the annals of the Holy Roman Empire. Gisela of Burgundy, born in 952 AD, was the wife of Emperor Conrad II and the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and her influence helped shape the cultural and religious landscape of the empire during her lifetime.
In the 12th century, a Gisela of Merania lived from 1185 to 1238 and was the Queen of Hungary as the wife of King Andrew II. She played a pivotal role in the political affairs of the kingdom and was known for her patronage of the arts and culture.
Another notable figure was Gisela of Bavaria, born in 1210, who was the Queen of Hungary as the wife of King Stephen V. She was renowned for her diplomatic skills and played a crucial role in mediating disputes between various European rulers during her lifetime.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Gisela. The name has endured across centuries and continues to be used in various parts of Europe, particularly in German-speaking regions, as a testament to its rich historical heritage and cultural significance.
People
Gisela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gisela 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
Gisela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gisela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gisela 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 88,453 US residents.
Is Gisela a common name?
We classify Gisela as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gisela most popular?
The single biggest year for Gisela was 1995, when 160 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gisela is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gisela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,799 people with the name Gisela, or 4.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,100 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 Gisela 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 Gisela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gisela appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,810 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Gisela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gisela is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.0%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Gisela most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gisela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.8% (8,550 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 Gisela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gisela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gisela 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 Gisela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gisela 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 Gisela 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 Gisela?
See how many people have the name Gisela on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.