Melanie
Greek melas, “black, dark,” through the Latin Melania.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Melanie first shows up in the national records in 1886. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 40 different years between 1968 and 2017. Its biggest year was 1972, when 6,296 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 42 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 142 for girls. All told, 263,254 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Melany (17,384), Melani (5,912), Melonie (5,462), Melony (4,459), Meilani (3,971), Melannie (1,746) (total births since 1880)
Explore Melanie interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 21 | No. 828 |
| 1890s | 63 | No. 998 |
| 1900s | 79 | No. 1053 |
| 1910s | 145 | No. 1178 |
| 1920s | 183 | No. 1587 |
| 1930s | 242 | No. 930 |
| 1940s | 5,029 | No. 217 |
| 1950s | 19,849 | No. 141 |
| 1960s | 36,751 | No. 92 |
| 1970s | 53,323 | No. 42 |
| 1980s | 35,952 | No. 60 |
| 1990s | 29,352 | No. 86 |
| 2000s | 35,228 | No. 81 |
| 2010s | 33,086 | No. 77 |
| 2020s | 13,337 | No. 105 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.