Giselle
Giselle was the 382nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 803 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 134th with 2,596 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 161 places. More babies were named Giselle in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning pledge, hostage · Germanic, French
Say it jih-ZEL /dʒɪˈzɛl/
- Rank in 2025
- #382 girls, down 50 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 803girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20072,596 babies
- Total since 1880
- 50,230babies recorded
What does the name Giselle mean?
Giselle is the French form of the Germanic name Gisela. DMNES derives Gisela from Old High German gīsal, "pledge, hostage", since noble children were sometimes given as pledges between families, and lists a 10th-century Frankish queen and an 11th-century queen of Hungary. Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle (1841) made the French form famous.
gīsal (Old High German, “pledge, hostage”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Gisela, Gisele, Gisselle.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Giselle', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gisela', DMNES, Durham University
Nicknames for Giselle
The usual nicknames for Giselle are Gigi. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Giselle in the last five years, 8 were named Gigi, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gigi · also for Gianna, Georgia, Giovanna | Modern | #2,831 | 365 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Giselles go by each one.
Giselle popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 44 since 1986.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #382 | 803 |
| 2020 | #332 | 937 |
| 2010 | #147 | 2,090 |
| 2000 | #212 | 1,486 |
| 1990 | #704 | 299 |
| 1980 | #1,184 | 113 |
| 1970 | #1,410 | 74 |
| 1960 | #1,332 | 69 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Giselle, counting every spelling?
Giselle is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #306 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #382 for Giselle on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,071 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giselle | 803 | #382 | 4,318 |
| Gisselle | 111 | #1,812 | 618 |
| Gisele | 53 | #3,081 | 311 |
| Gizelle | 32 | #4,390 | 214 |
| Gisel | 17 | #6,635 | 97 |
| Gissel | 30 | #4,592 | 92 |
| Gisell | 16 | #6,938 | 80 |
| Gissell | 9 | #10,378 | 47 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Giselle?
803 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Giselle (0.22 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Giselle born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Giselle.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Giselle?
About 49,500 people born in the US named Giselle are alive today, with a median age of 18; half are between 12 and 25. That makes Giselle mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Giselle by state
How common Giselle was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.4×), California (2.2×), New Mexico (2.1×), Arizona (1.9×), Texas (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Giselle: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Giselle, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Giselle · Sibling names for Giselle
Questions about the name Giselle
What does Giselle mean?
Giselle means “pledge, hostage” (Germanic, French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Giselle?
Giselle was the 382nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 803 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 134th with 2,596 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 161 places. More babies were named Giselle in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Giselle a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Giselle in the US.
Where is Giselle most popular?
In 2021–2025, Giselle was most common in Nevada (1.25 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and New Mexico.