Gretchen is a girl name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Gretchen means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Gretchen across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Gretchen has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Gretchen is a girl name of Greek origin meaning “pearl”. A German pet form of Margaret.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 53,837 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 30 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 3 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Gretchen per year, United States (1882 to 2025). United States peaked in 1973 (1,351/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2014 (8/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1981 (3/yr).
Gretchen has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1973, when it ranked #365 nationally (given to 1,351 babies that year).
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