Girl nameCurrently #122 in the USFalling
Melanie
MEL-uh-nee//ˈmɛləni//
3 syllablesPeak year: 19727 lettersStarts with M
Meaning & origin
Dark, black
Melanie derives from the Greek 'melas', meaning dark or black, likely originally describing hair or complexion. It has been a gently classic English name for centuries, familiar from Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone with the Wind' character Melanie Wilkes.
Melanie's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Melanie |
|---|---|
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 7 |
| 1897 | 7 |
| 1898 | 11 |
| 1899 | 9 |
| 1900 | 13 |
| 1901 | 6 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1905 | 7 |
| 1906 | 8 |
| 1907 | 12 |
| 1908 | 11 |
| 1909 | 10 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 9 |
| 1912 | 20 |
| 1913 | 12 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 20 |
| 1916 | 14 |
| 1917 | 15 |
| 1918 | 22 |
| 1919 | 17 |
| 1920 | 26 |
| 1921 | 16 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 12 |
| 1924 | 13 |
| 1925 | 15 |
| 1926 | 20 |
| 1927 | 27 |
| 1928 | 20 |
| 1929 | 16 |
| 1930 | 12 |
| 1931 | 17 |
| 1932 | 16 |
| 1933 | 17 |
| 1934 | 9 |
| 1935 | 9 |
| 1936 | 13 |
| 1937 | 39 |
| 1938 | 53 |
| 1939 | 57 |
| 1940 | 200 |
| 1941 | 308 |
| 1942 | 388 |
| 1943 | 407 |
| 1944 | 308 |
| 1945 | 335 |
| 1946 | 410 |
| 1947 | 520 |
| 1948 | 955 |
| 1949 | 1,199 |
| 1950 | 1,026 |
| 1951 | 1,006 |
| 1952 | 1,351 |
| 1953 | 1,423 |
| 1954 | 1,859 |
| 1955 | 2,659 |
| 1956 | 2,699 |
| 1957 | 2,481 |
| 1958 | 2,534 |
| 1959 | 2,827 |
| 1960 | 3,668 |
| 1961 | 3,763 |
| 1962 | 4,281 |
| 1963 | 4,276 |
| 1964 | 3,956 |
| 1965 | 3,125 |
| 1966 | 3,056 |
| 1967 | 3,108 |
| 1968 | 3,656 |
| 1969 | 3,931 |
| 1970 | 4,343 |
| 1971 | 5,145 |
| 1972 | 6,319 |
| 1973 | 6,098 |
| 1974 | 5,502 |
| 1975 | 5,382 |
| 1976 | 5,259 |
| 1977 | 5,390 |
| 1978 | 5,012 |
| 1979 | 5,045 |
| 1980 | 4,861 |
| 1981 | 4,486 |
| 1982 | 4,269 |
| 1983 | 3,571 |
| 1984 | 3,536 |
| 1985 | 3,150 |
| 1986 | 2,980 |
| 1987 | 2,753 |
| 1988 | 2,847 |
| 1989 | 3,650 |
| 1990 | 3,832 |
| 1991 | 3,590 |
| 1992 | 3,366 |
| 1993 | 2,996 |
| 1994 | 2,685 |
| 1995 | 2,656 |
| 1996 | 2,671 |
| 1997 | 2,531 |
| 1998 | 2,461 |
| 1999 | 2,657 |
| 2000 | 2,981 |
| 2001 | 2,920 |
| 2002 | 3,491 |
| 2003 | 3,558 |
| 2004 | 3,599 |
| 2005 | 3,506 |
| 2006 | 4,043 |
| 2007 | 4,015 |
| 2008 | 3,722 |
| 2009 | 3,486 |
| 2010 | 3,486 |
| 2011 | 3,294 |
| 2012 | 3,467 |
| 2013 | 3,474 |
| 2014 | 3,706 |
| 2015 | 3,494 |
| 2016 | 3,490 |
| 2017 | 3,244 |
| 2018 | 2,850 |
| 2019 | 2,591 |
| 2020 | 2,527 |
| 2021 | 2,187 |
| 2022 | 2,172 |
| 2023 | 2,120 |
| 2024 | 2,244 |
Melanie through the decades
- Melanie peaked in 1972, when 6,319 babies were named Melanie in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Melanie has fallen 26% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Melanie currently ranks #122 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
Mel
Variants & spellings
MelanyMelania