Melinda
Melinda was given to 97 girls in 2025, #1,985 among girls’ names; 136,159 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 121,000 Americans named Melinda and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (89% of everyone recorded); the median is 54 years old and half are between 45 and 63.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Melinda by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Melinda mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Melinda is “a female given name originating as a coinage.”
Coined in the eighteenth century from names such as Melanie and Melissa + -inda.
/məˈlɪn.də/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Melinda?
#1,985 among girls’ names, 2025
Melinda fell from #1,365 in 2015 to #1,985 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 97.5 to 60.4 per million.
4,236 babies in 1970, the peak
Melinda peaked in 1970, when 4,236 babies were given it (4,225 girls, #93 among girls’ names). The 97 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 97 | #1,985 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 91 | #2,113 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 91 | #2,117 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 83 | #2,269 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 93 | #2,064 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 105 | #1,856 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 98 | #1,985 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 120 | #1,722 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 131 | #1,652 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 139 | #1,597 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 174 | #1,365 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 165 | #1,397 | 0.09 |
| 2013 | 150 | #1,485 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 174 | #1,350 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 193 | #1,240 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 227 | #1,099 | 0.13 |
| 2009 | 209 | #1,203 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 253 | #1,037 | 0.13 |
| 2007 | 251 | #1,046 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 252 | #1,017 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 217 | #1,101 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 219 | #1,059 | 0.12 |
| 2003 | 209 | #1,069 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 242 | #927 | 0.13 |
| 2001 | 306 | #773 | 0.17 |
| 2000 | 337 | #696 | 0.19 |
| 1999 | 401 | #606 | 0.23 |
| 1998 | 414 | #585 | 0.23 |
| 1997 | 462 | #520 | 0.27 |
| 1996 | 540 | #465 | 0.31 |
| 1995 | 633 | #409 | 0.36 |
| 1994 | 765 | #348 | 0.43 |
| 1993 | 979 | #283 | 0.54 |
| 1992 | 1,085 | #259 | 0.59 |
| 1991 | 1,266 | #223 | 0.68 |
| 1990 | 1,381 | #208 | 0.73 |
| 1989 | 1,586 | #175 | 0.86 |
| 1988 | 1,879 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1987 | 1,920 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1986 | 1,959 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1985 | 2,114 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1984 | 2,228 | #129 | 1.3 |
| 1983 | 2,142 | #138 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | 2,409 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 1981 | 2,774 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1980 | 3,201 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1979 | 3,705 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1978 | 3,563 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1977 | 3,044 | #96 | 2.0 |
| 1976 | 2,995 | #95 | 2.0 |
| 1975 | 3,282 | #91 | 2.3 |
| 1974 | 3,752 | #81 | 2.6 |
| 1973 | 4,144 | #72 | 2.8 |
| 1972 | 3,671 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1971 | 4,057 | #85 | 2.4 |
| 1970 | 4,225 | #93 | 2.4 |
| 1969 | 3,988 | #89 | 2.4 |
| 1968 | 3,814 | #90 | 2.3 |
| 1967 | 3,632 | #95 | 2.2 |
| 1966 | 3,382 | #102 | 2.0 |
| 1965 | 3,796 | #100 | 2.2 |
| 1964 | 3,703 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1963 | 3,575 | #121 | 1.9 |
| 1962 | 3,854 | #118 | 2.0 |
| 1961 | 3,507 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 3,046 | #143 | 1.5 |
| 1959 | 2,805 | #151 | 1.4 |
| 1958 | 2,937 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1957 | 2,828 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 1956 | 2,713 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1955 | 2,413 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 1954 | 1,954 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1953 | 1,773 | #176 | 0.94 |
| 1952 | 1,513 | #195 | 0.82 |
| 1951 | 1,410 | #205 | 0.78 |
| 1950 | 1,163 | #222 | 0.68 |
| 1949 | 1,073 | #227 | 0.63 |
| 1948 | 840 | #265 | 0.49 |
| 1947 | 696 | #299 | 0.39 |
| 1946 | 484 | #336 | 0.31 |
| 1945 | 355 | #374 | 0.27 |
| 1944 | 393 | #347 | 0.30 |
| 1943 | 510 | #308 | 0.37 |
| 1942 | 442 | #329 | 0.33 |
| 1941 | 328 | #374 | 0.27 |
| 1940 | 302 | #383 | 0.26 |
| 1939 | 192 | #486 | 0.18 |
| 1938 | 108 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 80 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 48 | #999 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 39 | #1,131 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,750 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 21 | #1,699 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 20 | #1,794 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 18 | #1,928 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 21 | #1,790 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 19 | #1,933 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 10 | #3,085 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 22 | #1,862 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 17 | #2,226 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,684 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 24 | #1,793 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 23 | #1,810 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 22 | #1,872 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,347 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 23 | #1,790 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 25 | #1,636 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,790 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,892 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 24 | #1,568 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 24 | #1,508 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 23 | #1,328 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 17 | #1,445 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 24 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,728 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 16 | #1,152 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 15 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 14 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 15 | #1,024 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 11 | #1,207 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,846 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 18 | #871 | 0.07 |
| 1903 | 11 | #1,117 | 0.04 |
| 1902 | 10 | #1,188 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 17 | #816 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 20 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 17 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1898 | 20 | #765 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 15 | #855 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 14 | #891 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 22 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 14 | #836 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 13 | #849 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 20 | #653 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 9 | #984 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 13 | #781 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 17 | #633 | 0.10 |
| 1888 | 21 | #557 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 8 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 19 | #521 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 10 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 7 | #902 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 12 | #575 | 0.11 |
| 1882 | 10 | #623 | 0.09 |
| 1881 | 11 | #527 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 14 | #462 | 0.15 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Melinda a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Melinda has been given almost only to girls: 337 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Melinda: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Melinda, and how old are they?
121,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 89% of the 136,159 Americans ever recorded as Melinda. The median Melinda alive today is 54 years old; half are between 45 and 63.
The 2020 Census counted 118,796 people named Melinda (118,704 women and girls, 92 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 124,442 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 | 1,350 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 34,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 54,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 24,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,320 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,530 |
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 Melinda born?
The states with the most babies named Melinda are California, Texas and Ohio, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 14,882 | #1,461 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 11,961 | #2,003 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 8,500 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New York | 7,154 | #1,613 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 6,011 | #1,197 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,848 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 4,911 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Florida | 4,479 | #2,063 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 4,302 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Missouri | 3,907 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Melinda is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Melinda is most over-represented in Indiana: since 1910 it was given 1.4 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 Melinda 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 160,628 babies since 1880, Melinda is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 97 of their 156 babies (62%), 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 Melinda
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 Melinda and names like it
- Compare Melinda and MalindaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sMelinda peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Melinda since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Melinda: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Melinda.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Melinda alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with MMost given first.