Zelda began as a short form of Griselda, a Germanic name usually explained as "gray battle" or "dark battle", and is also used as a Yiddish name linked to Selig, "blessed". Zelda Fitzgerald, the writer and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, gave it Jazz Age glamour, and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda has kept it familiar since 1986. The name returned to the US top 1000 in 2015, peaked at number 559 in 2020 and ranks number 832 in 2025.