Jilda

♀ Girl

Pronounced JIL-duh /ˈdʒɪl.də/Medium

Meaning: Jilda reads as a soft-J respelling of Gilda, an Italian and Germanic name built on the root gild, meaning a sacrifice or an offering, and sometimes linked to golden. The swap of G for J keeps the shape while giving it an English-friendly opening sound.Low

In 30 seconds: Jilda is a J-spelled take on Gilda, an old Germanic and Italian name tied to sacrifice or offering. It was always rare and clustered mid-century (said JIL-duh).

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Origin LowGermanic, Italian

MeaningJilda reads as a soft-J respelling of Gilda, an Italian and Germanic name built on the root gild, meaning a sacrifice or an offering, and sometimes linked to golden. The swap of G for J keeps the shape while giving it an English-friendly opening sound.

U.S. rank (1996)#9969 ↗ Rising

1996 U.S. births8 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1950

Total births (all-time)≈ 293

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Jilda is best understood as a variant of Gilda, a name Italian and Germanic families carried on the root gild, an offering or sacrifice. The tidy two-beat sound kept it usable, though it never left the far edge of the charts.

Records place Jilda in a thin band from the early twentieth century into the nineteen-nineties, never given to more than about a dozen or so girls in a year. A girl named Jilda at its mid-century high point would be a grandmother today.

Did you know? Because the letters G and J both spell the soft sound at the front of Gilda, families writing the name by ear sometimes settled on Jilda, giving the old name a plainer, more phonetic look.

Overall data confidence 40%

References - Jilda — Read as a variant of Gilda; Germanic gild root; low-frequency US records.

Variations

GildaGeldaHilda

Nicknames

JillJillyGigi

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Jilda…

Gilda— the parent spelling Jilda softens

Hilda— a like Germanic -ilda girl's name

Tilda— shares the crisp -ilda ending

Matilda— a longer relative of the same sound family

Explore names like Jilda

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Jilda mean?

Jilda is a variant of Gilda, from a Germanic root meaning sacrifice or offering, sometimes linked to golden.

How do you pronounce Jilda?

It is said JIL-duh /ˈdʒɪl.də/, two beats with the stress on the first.

Is Jilda a boy or girl name?

Jilda is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Jilda?

It has always been rare, given to only about a dozen girls a year even at its mid-century high point.