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Meh. It's not terrible, but it does sound very dated. I'd be pretty surprised to hear about someone naming their baby Gretchen nowadays. It does have sort of a sweet sound to it though, and I can imagine it growing on me if I met a little girl with the name.

I'm definitely a hater. As an american name it sounds like retching, wretched, gretch-grinch-grunch. As a German name it sounds as diminutive as Lizzie or, like, Wilkie. I can force it to have a, like, "cool-girl" image, but only by constructing a lot of associations.

I like it. There was a Gretchen at school who was a very pleasant person. And it's much nicer than Gretel.

Dislike. This name seems to come up quite often on this site, which usually makes me like the name more as I get used to seeing it. However this hadn't happened with Gretchen yet, I still think it's ugly and harsh sounding. Greta, on the other hand, is lovely.

My exboyfriend's sister is named Gretchen. She was a sweet girl and she proved it's totally usable.

I love it. I don't think I would use it myself but I'd like to meet a little girl called Gretchen.

I think it's clunky but charming. It's clunky and kind of ugly but it has charm. I knew a Gretchen growing up and slightly knew another one as a teenager. I know a Heidi who says that her parents almost named her Gretchen and she's glad that they didn't because she thinks Gretchen is horrid. I far prefer Gretchen to Heidi. I can see why someone would use Gretchen.

It's ugly. I like Gretel better, but that might be too heavily associated with Hansel and Gretel.

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I had a math teacher with the name Gretchen. She wasn't very nice.

This message was edited 6/9/2013, 9:39 AM

I hate it. I've met two really nice people named Gretchen, but I just can't bring myself to like it because it sounds so harsh to me and reminds me of retching.

I like it, though it's not a personal favorite. My stepsister's name is Gretchen; she's a loud, bubbly Texan. So it has a positive and upbeat feel to me.

Sorry, but I dislike it. The sound is harsh, plus it is too close to "retch" and "retching."

Like. I had a friend in high school named Gretchen. Super nice, smart, cute, stylish person and the name suited her fine.

I wouldn't use it, and wouldn't like being named Gretchen, but it definitely has a cheerful charm to it.

Frankly, I think it's horrible for various reasons:

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1. To me Gretchen isn't a name in its own right but a nickname for Margarete or similar names. Furthermore the -chen ending means it's a diminutive form so it sounds like a nickname for a small child.

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2. I don't like the Faust association. I think the character Gretchen is one of the most obnoxious characters in a theater play.

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3. The English pronounciation just sounds weird and wrong to my ears.

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4. Gretchen (and Margarete as a full name) is completely outdated here in Germany. It would seem strange to see it on a little girl.

It's fine as a nickname for Margarete. If I remember correctly Margarete nn Gretchen was the name of the female main character in Faust. She's not a great namesake as she had a rather miserable life and an untimely death.

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I don't like it as a full name at all. I'm half German and it wasn't used as a full name except for in the nickname name phase of the early 1900s. It sounds extremely cutesy and childish to me. Also when people who don't speak German pronounce it, it sounds very different from the original German pronunciation. It sounds quite soft in German but English speakers usually don't get the -chen sound right and it just sounds harsh and unattractive. Don't ask me to explain the -chen sound, it's impossible, a sound that doesn't exist in the English language. Maybe you can find an audio file or something.

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It's fine to pronounce it the English way, of course. I just don't care much for it in general. I'd recommend using it as a nickname. Margaret, Margarete, Margareta, Margarita and Greta would work. Greta nn Gretchen would be my favorite. I know that Greta is a short form but it's not cutesy and Greta nn Gretchen makes sense and is more obvious than Margarete nn Gretchen.

This message was edited 6/8/2013, 2:02 PM

Love! I think it's adorable and intelligent and upbeat and has pretty colors. I would be using it as a nickname for my Margaret, but we went with another. I think she could be a Gretchen though, and I know my mom really likes it too. But I do have a good friend Gretch/Gretchen, so it could be a little odd calling my kid that.

This message was edited 6/8/2013, 1:53 PM