Zelda

Diminutive of Griselda

"gray fighting maid"

Zelda Origin and Meaning

The name Zelda is a girl's name of German origin meaning "gray fighting maid".

Classified as an early beauty, Zelda has long and often been used as such for characters in books and films. Since 1986, Zelda has been a prime Nintendo name, as in the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Zelda was in baby name limbo for a number of years, but it's making a comeback with the interest in Z (and X) names. It was one of the fastest-rising girls’ names of 2015, when it entered the Top 1000 for the first time in nearly 50 years.

For many, there will always be a strong association to Scott Fitzgerald's tortured wife, herself a writer and a symbol of the 1920's Jazz Age — also the subject of a recent novel-turned-television show.

Trivia tidbit: Marilyn Monroe was known to sometimes use the pseudonym Zelda Zonk.

Zelda Rank in US Top 1000

# 705 in the US

Zelda Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 279 on Nameberry

Zelda Popularity

• 705 US 2023
• 279 Nameberry 2024
• 494 Future 2028
• 827 England 2021
• 66 Cats 2022

20 Names Similar to Zelda

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Zelda.

• Zora
• Juno
• Artemis
• Minerva
• Cosima
• Aura
• Athena
• Isolde
• Lilith
• Fiona
• Andromeda
• Ingrid
• Odette
• Lavender
• Arwen
• Cressida
• Diana
• Celestia
• Indigo
• Astrid

Famous People Named Zelda

• Zelda Fitzgerald American novelist; wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Zelda May Rubinstein American actress
• Zelda Popkin American mystery novelist
• Zelda Harris American actress
• Zelda Sears American actress and writer
• Zelda Rae Williams American actress; daughter of Robin Williams
• Zelda June Topolsky daughter of tech guru Joshua Topolsky of Engadget
• Zelda Violet Frissberg (b. 2015) daughter of Emma Bloomberg and Chris Frissora; granddaughter of politician Michael Bloomberg

Zelda in Pop Culture

• Zelda character in the hit game series, The Legend of Zelda.
• Zelda Heap character in the Septimus Heap book series
• Zelda Spellman Sabrina's aunt on TV's "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and Netflix's "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"
• Zelda character in Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast
• Zelda a main character in Morris Gleitzman's "Once," "Then," "After" and "Now"
• Zelda Zonk a pseudonym used by Marilyn Monroe
• Zelda Reginhard character in anime and manga series Lotte no Omocha!
• Zelda character in the British TV series Terrahawks
• Zelda Dobinski character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Zelda Mae character in "The Sims 3" computer game