Meaning and background
The story behind Gretel
Gretel is a German diminutive of Grete, a member of the Margaret name family. For many English speakers its clearest association is the younger sibling in Hansel and Gretel, published in the Brothers Grimm's 1812 collection. The story draws on earlier folklore, so the name should not be described as invented by the Grimms. English and German speakers also pronounce its final syllable differently.
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About Gretel
Recorded as a dog’s name
Gretel appears in 6 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ɡɹɛtəl/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ɡɹɛtəl/ · primary stress on syllable 1G R EH1 T AH0 L
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.