| Griselda | Rosalind | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Grey battle-maid | Disputed: gentle horse / beautiful rose |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | grih-ZEL-duh | ROZ-uh-lind |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1888 |
| Peak year | 1993 (307) | 1965 (652) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 140 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Griselda | Rosalind |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 266 | 926 |
| 2010s | 489 | 1,252 |
| 2000s | 1,227 | 404 |
| 1990s | 2,299 | 535 |
| 1980s | 2,231 | 921 |
| 1970s | 1,703 | 2,168 |
| 1960s | 550 | 5,350 |
| 1950s | 208 | 5,331 |
| 1940s | 77 | 4,409 |
| 1930s | 41 | 1,855 |
| 1920s | 23 | 2,093 |
| 1910s | 5 | 1,403 |
| 1900s | 5 | 314 |
| 1890s | 0 | 158 |
| 1880s | 0 | 17 |
From the Germanic elements 'gris' (grey) and 'hild' (battle). Widely known from the patient-wife tale retold by Boccaccio and Chaucer.
Disputed etymology. Originally Germanic, from 'hros' (horse) + 'lind' (soft, tender), i.e. roughly 'gentle horse'. In Romance-speaking areas it was reinterpreted by folk etymology as Latin/Spanish 'rosa linda' meaning 'beautiful rose'. The floral meaning is the popular later reading, not the original.
Rosalind is more popular than Griselda today: about 140 US babies were given the name Rosalind in 2025, compared with 0 named Griselda.
Griselda means Grey battle-maid (germanic origin), while Rosalind means Disputed: gentle horse / beautiful rose (germanic origin).
In US records, Griselda first appears in 0 and Rosalind in 1888, so Griselda has the longer recorded history.