Girl · Germanic, through French
Ghislaine
Say it: gee-LEN
Meaning
Feminine of Ghislain; probably from Germanic gisil 'pledge, hostage', but uncertain.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 190 babies given this name since 1951
- At its height in 2012, about 1 in 159,900 girls
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.