Girls' name · since 1880
Melinda
135,822 babies named Melinda in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1970. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #297 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,982 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 135,822
- born since 1880
- 1970s
- peak decade
Melinda currently ranks #1982 among girls' names in America, with 135,822 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Melinda recorded 135,822 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #1982 nationally today, ahead of 89% of girls, peaking in the 1970s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #297 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,982 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 135,822 born since 1880
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Melinda ranks #297 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,982 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 135,822 born since 1880, peaking in the 1970s.
- #297 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,982 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 135,822
- born since 1880
- 1970s
- peak decade
Melinda's 135,822 recorded births place it above 99.58% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Melinda compares
135,822 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Melinda's all-time total is 361x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Melinda | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 135,822 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 4,225 | 21 | 19,840 |
Melinda's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Melinda's full recorded timeline at 1953, 92% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 8% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1911, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1970 peak of 4,225 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Melinda popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1970)
- 4,225
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Melinda popularity over time - boys
337 total births recorded since 1954 (Melinda as boys' name)
Melinda by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (36,438 births, 27% of the file).
1970s was Melinda's strongest decade.
36,438 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Melinda births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 129
1880s
129 births
- 1890s 157
1890s
157 births
- 1900s 137
1900s
137 births
- 1910s 199
1910s
199 births
- 1920s 202
1920s
202 births
- 1930s 567
1930s
567 births
- 1940s 5,423
1940s
5,423 births
- 1950s
1950s
21,509 births
- 1960s
1960s
36,297 births
- 1970s
1970s
36,438 births
- 1980s
1980s
22,212 births
- 1990s 7,926
1990s
7,926 births
- 2000s 2,495
2000s
2,495 births
- 2010s 1,571
2010s
1,571 births
- 2020s 560
2020s
560 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 36,438 births (27% of all-time use).
How Melinda compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Melinda's total volume
Melinda by state
Where Melinda concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 14,882 | 11.0% |
| #2 | Texas | | 11,961 | 8.8% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 8,500 | 6.3% |
| #4 | New York | | 7,154 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 6,011 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 5,848 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Indiana | | 4,911 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Florida | | 4,479 | 3.3% |
14,882 of 135,822 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Melinda appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Melinda? ▼
Where does Melinda sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Melinda most popular? ▼
Where is Melinda most popular? ▼
How long has the name Melinda been used? ▼
What names are similar to Melinda? ▼
What to do with Melinda's data
- Melinda's decade-level peak was the 1970s (36,438 total births); usage has since declined to 560 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Melindas (14,882 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Melinda
Nearby Names Like Melinda
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Melinda
Compare Melinda side by side: Melinda vs Melissa Melinda vs Melanie Melinda vs Melody
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Melinda
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Melinda: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1970)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Melinda draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.