Declining since 2001, #10,107 for girls today.
Popularity of Gissell since 1979
Babies named Gissell per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 47 |
| 1990s | 275 |
| 2000s | 763 |
| 2010s | 241 |
| 2020s | 61 |
Meaning & origin
Gissell emerged in the United States in 1979, a modern respelling of the classic Giselle. It reached its peak popularity in 2000, but has been declining since 2001, falling to rank 10,107 by 2025. At that time, approximately 1 in 178,585 newborn girls received the name. The name's trajectory reflects a broader trend away from elaborate spellings of traditional names. While Gissell has no strong regional ties, its parent name Giselle has been widely adopted across English-speaking countries. The variant Gissell offers a distinctive twist on a name with roots in medieval Germanic culture and 19th-century ballet.
Gissell is a variant of Giselle, which derives from the Old German element gisal, meaning 'pledge' or 'hostage'. The name was brought to France by the Normans and became popular in the medieval period. It is also associated with the ballet 'Giselle' (1841) by Adolphe Adam, though the spelling Gissell is a modern Americanized form.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Gis, Gigi, Ella
Sibling names for Gissell
Names that share Gissell's style, for a brother or sister.
