Griffith vs Grisel
American parents have registered 1,678 Grisels since 1880, against 1,550 Griffiths. But in 2025 it was Griffith that was commoner, 22 babies to 7.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Griffith Grisel
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 113 years in which either name was published, Griffith for 66 years and Grisel for 47 years. The lead changed hands 16 times.
- 1899–1959 Griffith ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1965–2009 Grisel ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 2013–2025 Griffith ahead
11 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Griffith | Grisel | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,550 | 1,678 |
| Most in one year | 26 | 211 |
| Babies in 2025 | 22 | 7 |
| Estimated living today | 1,100 | 1,600 |
| Median age today | 31 | 40 |
| Peak year | 1918 | 1984 |
| Best rank | 1,404th boys | 784th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 4,539th | 11,932nd |
| First recorded | 1899 | 1954 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,550 | 1,671 / 7 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Grisels alive today are over 40; half the Griffiths are over 31. That is 9 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Griffith Pennsylvania (11.3×)
- Grisel New York (4.4×), California (3.4×), Illinois (2.3×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Griffith and Grisel.