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Meaning & History
This is a short form of Griselda.It was very occasioanally used in England after medieval times. It's part of the following famous quote from Oliver Goldsmith's 1766 novel "The Vicar of Wakefield":"Our eldest son was named George, after his uncle, who left us ten thousand pounds. Our second child, a girl, I intended to call after her aunt Grissel; but my wife, who during her pregnancy had been reading romances, insisted upon her being called Olivia. In less than another year we had another daughter, and now I was determined that Grissel should be her name; but a rich relation taking a fancy to stand godmother, the girl was, by her directions, called Sophia; so that we had two romantic names in the family; but I solemnly protest I had no hand in it."