Melanie
Melanie was given to 2,074 girls in 2025, #142 among girls’ names; 263,254 Americans have been recorded with it since 1886 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 246,000 Americans named Melanie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 41 years old and half are between 21 and 54.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Melanie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Melanie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Melanie is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “black, dark” (μέλας).
From French Mélanie, from Latin Melania, the name of two Roman fifth century saints, from Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black, dark”).
/ˈmɛləni/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Melanie?
#142 among girls’ names, 2025
Melanie fell from #81 in 2015 to #142 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 2.0 to 1.3 per 1,000.
6,320 babies in 1972, the peak
Melanie peaked in 1972, when 6,320 babies were given it (6,296 girls, #42 among girls’ names). The 2,074 births of 2025 are 33% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,074 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 2024 | 2,253 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 2023 | 2,121 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 2022 | 2,173 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 2021 | 2,188 | #129 | 1.3 |
| 2020 | 2,528 | #105 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | 2,592 | #110 | 1.5 |
| 2018 | 2,850 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 2017 | 3,240 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 2016 | 3,490 | #82 | 2.0 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,497 | #81 | 2.0 |
| 2014 | 3,701 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 2013 | 3,474 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 2012 | 3,467 | #77 | 2.0 |
| 2011 | 3,289 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 2010 | 3,486 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 2009 | 3,487 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 2008 | 3,714 | #85 | 2.0 |
| 2007 | 4,000 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 2006 | 4,034 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 2005 | 3,495 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 2004 | 3,583 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 2003 | 3,550 | #93 | 1.9 |
| 2002 | 3,484 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 2001 | 2,913 | #117 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | 2,968 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1999 | 2,649 | #126 | 1.5 |
| 1998 | 2,459 | #135 | 1.4 |
| 1997 | 2,522 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1996 | 2,664 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1995 | 2,646 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 1994 | 2,679 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1993 | 2,987 | #110 | 1.7 |
| 1992 | 3,353 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1991 | 3,580 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1990 | 3,813 | #86 | 2.0 |
| 1989 | 3,628 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1988 | 2,834 | #99 | 1.6 |
| 1987 | 2,745 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1986 | 2,973 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1985 | 3,132 | #88 | 1.8 |
| 1984 | 3,516 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1983 | 3,553 | #79 | 2.1 |
| 1982 | 4,255 | #65 | 2.5 |
| 1981 | 4,475 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1980 | 4,841 | #60 | 2.9 |
| 1979 | 5,021 | #53 | 3.1 |
| 1978 | 4,996 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1977 | 5,373 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1976 | 5,241 | #53 | 3.6 |
| 1975 | 5,369 | #52 | 3.7 |
| 1974 | 5,483 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1973 | 6,079 | #43 | 4.2 |
| 1972 | 6,296 | #42 | 4.1 |
| 1971 | 5,135 | #66 | 3.1 |
| 1970 | 4,330 | #91 | 2.5 |
| 1969 | 3,925 | #92 | 2.3 |
| 1968 | 3,641 | #94 | 2.2 |
| 1967 | 3,108 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1966 | 3,050 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1965 | 3,116 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1964 | 3,943 | #105 | 2.1 |
| 1963 | 4,268 | #101 | 2.2 |
| 1962 | 4,281 | #106 | 2.2 |
| 1961 | 3,757 | #123 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 3,662 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1959 | 2,826 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 1958 | 2,535 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1957 | 2,474 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1956 | 2,691 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1955 | 2,658 | #141 | 1.4 |
| 1954 | 1,859 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1953 | 1,423 | #210 | 0.76 |
| 1952 | 1,351 | #211 | 0.73 |
| 1951 | 1,006 | #244 | 0.56 |
| 1950 | 1,026 | #237 | 0.60 |
| 1949 | 1,199 | #217 | 0.70 |
| 1948 | 955 | #242 | 0.56 |
| 1947 | 520 | #350 | 0.29 |
| 1946 | 410 | #376 | 0.26 |
| 1945 | 335 | #386 | 0.26 |
| 1944 | 307 | #413 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 407 | #354 | 0.29 |
| 1942 | 388 | #356 | 0.29 |
| 1941 | 308 | #393 | 0.25 |
| 1940 | 200 | #480 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 57 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 53 | #982 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 39 | #1,155 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,350 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 9 | #3,085 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 9 | #3,083 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 17 | #1,949 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 16 | #2,102 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 17 | #2,003 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 12 | #2,644 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 16 | #2,154 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 20 | #1,944 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 27 | #1,606 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 20 | #1,971 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 15 | #2,455 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,764 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 12 | #2,858 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 18 | #2,161 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,346 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,651 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 17 | #2,129 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,789 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 15 | #2,281 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,330 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 20 | #1,718 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 8 | #2,791 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,849 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,203 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,741 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,883 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 10 | #1,439 | 0.03 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,321 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 12 | #1,192 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,511 | 0.03 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,646 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 7 | #1,596 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,978 | 0.02 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,606 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 13 | #1,087 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 9 | #1,158 | 0.04 |
| 1898 | 11 | #1,080 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 7 | #1,345 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 7 | #1,385 | 0.03 |
| 1894 | 10 | #1,043 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,580 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 8 | #1,146 | 0.04 |
| 1891 | 6 | #1,293 | 0.03 |
| 1889 | 7 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,111 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 8 | #874 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Melanie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Melanie has been given almost only to girls: 614 boys in 136 years of records.
Girls and boys named Melanie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Melanie, and how old are they?
246,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 263,254 Americans ever recorded as Melanie. The median Melanie alive today is 41 years old; half are between 21 and 54.
The 2020 Census counted 225,738 people named Melanie (225,462 women and girls, 276 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 238,316 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,050 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 34,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 70,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 51,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 52,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 36,000 |
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 Melanie born?
The states with the most babies named Melanie are California, Texas and New York, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 36,865 | #77 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 25,951 | #76 | 1.2× |
| New York | 18,330 | #163 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 12,570 | #127 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 11,276 | #98 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 11,276 | #218 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 10,438 | #208 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 7,901 | #141 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 7,797 | #265 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 7,795 | #154 | 1.0× |
Where Melanie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Melanie is most over-represented in Utah: 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 girls’ 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 Melanie 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 303,698 babies since 1880, Melanie is the most given (87% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,074 of their 3,810 babies (54%), 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 Melanie
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 Melanie and names like it
- Compare Melanie and MelanyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sMelanie peaked in 1972.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Melanie since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Melanie: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1972The year the most babies were named Melanie.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Melanie alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with MMost given first.