Meaning: Its source is Margareta, a German name meaning "Pearl."

Languages: This girl's name is used in German and English.

Nickname For: Margareta and Margarethe

Narrative: Folklore has linked Gretel to Hansel. The terrifying tale sets the young brother and sister alone in the wood after dark, then finds them in the clutches of a hungry witch whom they must outwit. It has been the grist for many a psychoanalyt's mill, and the inspiration for an 1893 opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck.