| Zelda | Griselda | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Battle (grey battle-maid) | Grey battle-maid |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ZEL-duh | grih-ZEL-duh |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2020 (526) | 1993 (307) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Zelda | Griselda |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,561 | 266 |
| 2010s | 2,889 | 489 |
| 2000s | 391 | 1,227 |
| 1990s | 144 | 2,299 |
| 1980s | 154 | 2,231 |
| 1970s | 305 | 1,703 |
| 1960s | 1,265 | 550 |
| 1950s | 1,160 | 208 |
| 1940s | 1,074 | 77 |
| 1930s | 1,650 | 41 |
| 1920s | 2,376 | 23 |
| 1910s | 1,854 | 5 |
| 1900s | 595 | 5 |
| 1890s | 254 | 0 |
| 1880s | 62 | 0 |
Commonly a short form of Griselda, from Germanic 'gris' (grey) and 'hild' (battle). A separate Yiddish name Zelda meaning roughly 'blessed/happy' also exists, so the battle sense specifically traces to the Griselda line.
From the Germanic elements 'gris' (grey) and 'hild' (battle). Widely known from the patient-wife tale retold by Boccaccio and Chaucer.
Zelda and Griselda are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Zelda means Battle (grey battle-maid) (germanic origin), while Griselda means Grey battle-maid (germanic origin).
In US records, Zelda first appears in 0 and Griselda in 0, so Zelda has the longer recorded history.