Grisel
A feminine name of French origin meaning "gray-haired" or "curly-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 1,552 living Americans carry the first name Grisel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Grisel today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Grisel births was 1984 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Grisel. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 220,847 Americans
Peak year
1984
211 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1984 SSA rank
#5,171
Tracked since 1954
Census
Grisel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,234 people with the first name Grisel, which placed it at #5,341 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
#5,341
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grisel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grisel is Hispanic at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Grisel 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 Grisel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.3% · 3,178
- White0.9% · 28
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 9
- Two or more races0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Grisel
Out of the 1,672 babies given the name Grisel since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Grisel as a male name
- Ranked #5,171 in 1984
- 7 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1984 (7 births)
Grisel as a female name
- Ranked #12,582 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (204 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Grisel appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,239 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Grisel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Grisel from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 493 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
Grisel 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 Grisel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Grisels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Grisel, while Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 136 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Grisel
The name Grisel finds its origins in the Old French language, derived from the Germanic word "gris," meaning "gray" or "gray-haired." It emerged during the Middle Ages in France and surrounding regions, often given to individuals with grayish hair or a grayish complexion.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Grisel can be traced back to the 13th century French literary work "Le Roman de la Rose," where a character named Griselda appears. This character became a symbol of patient wifely obedience and was later adapted into various other literary works, including Chaucer's "The Clerk's Tale" and Petrarch's "De Obedientia et Fide Uxoria Mythologia."
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Grisel was Griselda Poliziano (c. 1450-1508), an Italian Renaissance poet and writer. She was renowned for her poetic works and her correspondence with prominent figures of the time, including Angelo Poliziano and Marsilio Ficino.
Another notable Grisel was Grisel Brinsley Sheridan (1804-1867), an English novelist and playwright. She was the daughter of the renowned playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan and is best known for her novel "The Contrast," which explored the social and cultural differences between England and America.
In the 16th century, Grisel Dalier (c. 1560-1635) was a French Protestant noblewoman and writer. She is remembered for her memoir, "Mémoires de Madame Dalier," which recounted her experiences during the French Wars of Religion and her imprisonment for her Protestant faith.
During the 17th century, Grisel Hay (c. 1625-1692) was a Scottish aristocrat and courtier. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary of Modena, the second wife of King James II of England, and played a significant role in the court intrigues of the time.
Another notable figure was Grisel Viardot-García (1823-1910), a French mezzo-soprano and composer. She was the daughter of the renowned Spanish singer Manuel García and achieved great success as an operatic performer, particularly in the works of Gluck, Meyerbeer, and Berlioz.
People
Grisel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Grisel 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
Grisel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Grisel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,552 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Grisel 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 220,847 US residents.
Is Grisel a common name?
We classify Grisel as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,672 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Grisel most popular?
The single biggest year for Grisel was 1984, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Grisel is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Grisel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,234 people with the name Grisel, or 1.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,341 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 Grisel 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 Grisel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Grisel appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,239 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Grisel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grisel is Hispanic at 98.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Grisel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Grisel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (3,178 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 Grisel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Grisel a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Grisel 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 Grisel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Grisel 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 Grisel 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 many people are called Grisel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.