Mel
Mel is given to both girls and boys: 16 girls and 11 boys were given it in 2025 (#7,029 among girls’ names and #7,504 among boys’, #8,573 among all names counting both); 4,201 Americans have been recorded with it since 1902 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,680 Americans named Mel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (64% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 36 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Mel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Mel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Mel is “a diminutive of the male given names Melchior, Melchor, Melech, Melfyn, Melhem, Melindro, Meliton, Melville, Melvin, and Melvyn.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given names Amelia, Carmel, Melania, Melanie, Melantha, Melanthe, Melika, Melike, Melina, Melinda, Melissa, Melita, Melitta, and Melody.”
/mɛl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Mel?
#7,504 among boys’ names, 2025
Mel entered the boys’ rankings after 2015 and stood at #7,504 in 2025.
132 babies in 1958, the peak
Mel peaked in 1958, when 132 babies were given it (120 boys, #688 among boys’ names). The 27 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 20% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #7,029 | 11 | #7,504 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,841 | 9 | #8,747 |
| 2023 | 16 | #7,146 | 10 | #8,061 |
| 2022 | 16 | #7,180 | 9 | #8,751 |
| 2021 | 10 | #10,058 | 9 | #8,598 |
| 2020 | 15 | #7,442 | 7 | #10,225 |
| 2019 | 18 | #6,608 | 7 | #10,448 |
| 2018 | 5 | #17,322 | 10 | #7,963 |
| 2017 | under 5 | 6 | #11,701 | |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,857 | 12 | #6,992 |
Every recorded year (118)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8 | #12,618 | under 5 | |
| 2014 | 5 | #18,323 | 6 | #11,654 |
| 2013 | 7 | #14,137 | 7 | #10,352 |
| 2012 | 6 | #16,224 | 5 | #13,535 |
| 2011 | under 5 | 10 | #7,883 | |
| 2010 | 5 | #18,898 | 11 | #7,407 |
| 2009 | 5 | #19,218 | 7 | #10,606 |
| 2008 | 8 | #13,391 | 13 | #6,639 |
| 2007 | 10 | #11,362 | 14 | #6,151 |
| 2006 | 12 | #9,700 | 18 | #4,980 |
| 2005 | 14 | #8,193 | 11 | #6,940 |
| 2004 | 30 | #4,569 | 16 | #5,168 |
| 2003 | 18 | #6,484 | 22 | #3,916 |
| 2002 | 21 | #5,603 | 12 | #5,948 |
| 2001 | under 5 | 12 | #5,894 | |
| 2000 | under 5 | 12 | #5,782 | |
| 1999 | under 5 | 17 | #4,264 | |
| 1998 | under 5 | 11 | #5,701 | |
| 1997 | under 5 | 12 | #5,161 | |
| 1996 | under 5 | 21 | #3,357 | |
| 1995 | under 5 | 14 | #4,428 | |
| 1994 | under 5 | 12 | #5,005 | |
| 1993 | under 5 | 13 | #4,600 | |
| 1992 | under 5 | 12 | #4,756 | |
| 1991 | under 5 | 13 | #4,388 | |
| 1990 | under 5 | 16 | #3,713 | |
| 1989 | under 5 | 17 | #3,394 | |
| 1988 | under 5 | 13 | #3,818 | |
| 1987 | under 5 | 13 | #3,657 | |
| 1986 | under 5 | 9 | #4,710 | |
| 1985 | under 5 | 10 | #4,234 | |
| 1984 | under 5 | 11 | #3,839 | |
| 1983 | under 5 | 11 | #3,782 | |
| 1982 | under 5 | 19 | #2,569 | |
| 1981 | under 5 | 14 | #3,153 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 26 | #2,092 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 16 | #2,857 | |
| 1978 | under 5 | 22 | #2,177 | |
| 1977 | under 5 | 17 | #2,620 | |
| 1976 | 5 | #10,267 | 31 | #1,695 |
| 1975 | under 5 | 32 | #1,615 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 27 | #1,772 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 20 | #2,096 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 35 | #1,446 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 30 | #1,620 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 36 | #1,408 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 47 | #1,145 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 35 | #1,305 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 51 | #1,027 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 63 | #925 | |
| 1965 | 6 | #6,264 | 65 | #924 |
| 1964 | 9 | #4,864 | 82 | #845 |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,693 | 64 | #943 |
| 1962 | 17 | #3,117 | 79 | #850 |
| 1961 | 13 | #3,727 | 102 | #764 |
| 1960 | 17 | #3,065 | 98 | #769 |
| 1959 | 12 | #3,751 | 94 | #791 |
| 1958 | 12 | #3,674 | 120 | #688 |
| 1957 | 17 | #2,893 | 90 | #791 |
| 1956 | 12 | #3,623 | 93 | #767 |
| 1955 | 8 | #4,616 | 69 | #896 |
| 1954 | 5 | #6,322 | 84 | #780 |
| 1953 | 12 | #3,401 | 94 | #740 |
| 1952 | 9 | #4,019 | 78 | #798 |
| 1951 | 5 | #5,950 | 54 | #956 |
| 1950 | under 5 | 67 | #831 | |
| 1949 | 7 | #4,528 | 70 | #818 |
| 1948 | under 5 | 71 | #808 | |
| 1947 | 6 | #5,110 | 98 | #700 |
| 1946 | under 5 | 86 | #702 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 67 | #751 | |
| 1944 | 6 | #4,380 | 59 | #822 |
| 1943 | 5 | #5,127 | 71 | #776 |
| 1942 | under 5 | 80 | #721 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 62 | #805 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 67 | #755 | |
| 1939 | 7 | #3,666 | 52 | #853 |
| 1938 | 5 | #4,767 | 61 | #792 |
| 1937 | under 5 | 43 | #966 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 43 | #943 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 26 | #1,343 | |
| 1934 | 5 | #4,755 | 40 | #1,035 |
| 1933 | 5 | #4,646 | 20 | #1,574 |
| 1932 | under 5 | 31 | #1,227 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 21 | #1,572 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 18 | #1,794 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 11 | #2,548 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 14 | #2,229 | |
| 1927 | 6 | #4,631 | 24 | #1,584 |
| 1926 | under 5 | 25 | #1,500 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 12 | #2,541 | |
| 1924 | 5 | #5,617 | 12 | #2,576 |
| 1923 | under 5 | 13 | #2,406 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 19 | #1,860 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 7 | #3,756 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 14 | #2,298 | |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,619 | 14 | #2,224 |
| 1918 | under 5 | 16 | #2,042 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 8 | #3,114 | |
| 1916 | 6 | #4,235 | 13 | #2,221 |
| 1915 | under 5 | 13 | #2,136 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 10 | #2,214 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 5 | #3,107 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 5 | #2,782 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 10 | #1,172 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 7 | #1,031 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 5 | #1,244 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 5 | #1,251 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Mel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 4,201 Americans recorded as Mel, 12% are girls and 88% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Mel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Mel, and how old are they?
2,680 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 64% of the 4,201 Americans ever recorded as Mel. The median Mel alive today is 62 years old; half are between 36 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 7,890 people named Mel (2,515 women and girls, 5,375 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,857 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Mel rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 212 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,190 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 491 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 207 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 327 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 245 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Mel born?
The states with the most babies named Mel are California, New York and Illinois, with 75% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 474 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New York | 316 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 162 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 90 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Ohio | 88 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 37 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Florida | 24 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Oklahoma | 10 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Washington | 10 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Mel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Mel is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Mel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 5,042 babies since 1880, Mel is the most given (83% of them). In 2025 it was given to 27 of their 27 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Mel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Mel and names like it
- Compare Mel and MellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sMel peaked in 1958.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Mel since 1910.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Mel.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Mel alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.