Gretchen
About Gretchen
Like Greta, Gretchen is a German Margaret diminutive that has become an American quasi-classic, though not much used today, having dropped off the list in 2009. She was at her high point in the 1970s, making it into the top 200.
Gretchen appears in Goethe's Faust, and has been seen more recently on Heroes and Breaking Bad. The name is currently enjoying a dash of modern glamour via actress Gretchen Mol.
Pronounced GRET-chen.
As of October 2026, Gretchen ranked #4292 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #191 in 1973, Nameberry popularity #855.
Editor's take: The name Gretchen is a girl's name of German origin meaning "pearl".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,263 | 191 | 106.9 |
| 2015 | #1,428 | 162 | 90.8 |
| 2016 | #1,380 | 170 | 95.9 |
| 2017 | #1,757 | 120 | 69.5 |
| 2018 | #2,031 | 96 | 56.4 |
| 2019 | #2,490 | 71 | 42.3 |
| 2020 | #2,606 | 65 | 40.2 |
| 2021 | #2,795 | 61 | 37.2 |
| 2022 | #3,136 | 52 | 31.7 |
| 2023 | #2,681 | 65 | 40.5 |
| 2024 | #3,591 | 43 | 26.5 |
| 2025 | #4,292 | 33 | 20.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Gretchen.
- Darla
- Ginny
- Dorethea
- Francine
- Bess
- Dora
- Wilma
- Gillian
- Georgette
- Meg
- Marion
- Bessie
- Mamie
- Pauline
- Jean
- Dinah
- Connie
- Augustine
- Velma
- Loretta
Gretchen on lists
Famous Gretchens
- Gretchen Mol
American actress
- Gretchen Craft Rubin
American author and attorney
- Gretchen Frances Wilson
American country singer
- Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson
Miss America 1989
- Gretchen Christine Rossi
American reality TV personality of "Real Housewives of Orange County"
- Gretchen Inga Geraghty
American YouTuber
- Gretchen Barretto
Filipina actress
- Gretchen Egolf
American actress
- Gretchen
stage name of Maria Odete Brito de Miranda, Brazilian celebrity
- Gretchen Esther Whitmer
American politician from Michigan
Gretchen in pop culture
- Gretchen Weiners
character in the movie "Mean Girls"
- Gretchen
minor character in "Phineas and Ferb"
- Gretchen Priscilla Grundler
one of the main characters on animated series "Recess"
- Greedy Gretchen
character on TV's "Three's Company"
- Gretchen
character in book series "The Popularity Papers"
- Gretchen Ross
Jena Malone's character in "Donnie Darko"
- Gretchen Louise Morgan
character in "Prison Break"
- Gretchen Berg
from the TV show "Heroes"
- Gretchen
a side character in cartoon "Bob's Burgers"
- Gretchen
minor character on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
- Gretchen Witter
Pacey's sister on "Dawson's Creek"
- Gretchen Cutler
main character on "You're the Worst"
- Gretchen
character in Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy
- Gretchen
character on TV's Weeds
- Gretchen Cutler
a character from You're the Worst
- Gretchen Schwartz
character on TV's Breaking Bad
- Gretchen
character in the animated series “Invader Zim”
- Gretchen Mannkusser
character from Malcolm in the Middle
- Gretchen
character on animated series Camp Lazlo
- Gretchen Grietchelson
character from Camp Lakebottom
- Gretchen Grimlock
character in online game Poptropica.
- Kriemhild Gretchen
the witch form of Madoka Kaname, a character in manga/anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica
- Gretchen Bodinski
character on TV's Suits
- Gretchen
a character in George Tabori's farce stage,adoptation of Hitler's Mein Kampf