Griselda is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

from Germanic sources that is now used in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

as well. According to the 1990 United States Census, the name was 1066th in popularity among females in the United States. It has been suggested that the name originated from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

"gris hild", meaning "dark battle". The name likely specifically stems from the

Proto-Germanic language Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

elements '' *grīsaz'', meaning both "grey" and "fearsome, terrible", and '' *haliþaz'', meaning "warrior, hero", or alternately '' *hildiz'', meaning "battle" (compare modern

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

grau The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

'' and ''

Held Held may refer to: Places * Held Glacier People Arts and media * Adolph Held (1885–1969), U.S. newspaper editor, banker, labor activist *Al Held (1928–2005), U.S. abstract expressionist painter. *Alexander Held (born 1958), German television ...

''). As a figure in European folklore, Griselda is noted for her patience and obedience and has been depicted in works of art, literature and opera. The name can also be spelled "Griselde", "Grisselda", "Grieselda", "Grizelda", "Gricelda", and "Criselda". Common nicknames include "Zelda", "Selda", "Grissy", "Gris", "Grisel", "Grizel" or "Crisel" People named Griselda include: *

Griselda Álvarez Griselda Álvarez Ponce de León (5 April 1913 – 26 March 2009) was the first female governor in Mexico. Álvarez was Governor of the state of Colima from 1979 to 1985.Griselda Blanco Griselda Blanco Restrepo (February 15, 1943 – September 3, 2012), known as ''the Black Widow'', was a Colombian drug lord of the Medellín Cartel, and in the Miami-based cocaine drug trade and underworld, during the 1970s through the earl ...

(1943-2012), a former drug lord for the Medellín Cartel *

Griselda Gambaro Griselda Gambaro (born 24 July 1928) is an Argentine people, Argentine writer, whose novels, plays, short stories, story tales, essays and novels for teenagers often concern the political violence in her home country that would develop into the D ...

(born 1928), Argentine writer *

Griselda González Griselda María de los Ángeles González Santillo (born December 4, 1965 in Buenos Aires) is a retired female long-distance runner from Argentina. She twice won the Buenos Aires Marathon in her native country. She also represented Argentine twice ...

(born 1965), Argentine former long-distance runner * (1910–2013), last native speaker of the

Livonian language The Livonian language ( liv, līvõ kēļ, link=no or ; et, liivi keel, link=yes) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Livonia, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia. Although its last ...

Griselda Pollock Griselda Frances Sinclair Pollock''The International Who's Who of Women''; 3rd ed.; ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 453 (born 11 March 1949) is an art historian and cultural analyst of international, postcolonial feminist stud ...

(born 1949), British art historian, cultural analyst and scholar *

Griselda Tessio Griselda Rosa de las Mercedes Tessio (born 1946 in Esperanza, Santa Fe) is the Vice-Governor of the Argentine province of Santa Fe since 11 December 2007. Formerly a federal prosecutor based on Santa Fe City, she accompanied Governor Hermes Binne ...

(born 1947), vice-governor of the Argentine province of Santa Fe

References

{{given name Italian feminine given names