Girls' name · since 1914
Melody
Since 1914, U.S. Social Security records show 114,914 babies named Melody, peaking in 2025. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #338 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #79 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 114,914
- born since 1914
- 2010s
- peak decade
114,914 babies have been named Melody since 1914, making it today's #79 girls' name.
Melody has 114,914 recorded births among girls since 1914, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #79 as of the latest data, more common than 99.5% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1914 to 2025.
- #338 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #79 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 114,914 born since 1914
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Melody ranks #338 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #79 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 114,914 born since 1914, peaking in the 2010s.
- #338 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #79 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 114,914
- born since 1914
- 2010s
- peak decade
Melody's 114,914 recorded births place it above 99.53% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Melody compares
114,914 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
Melody's all-time total is 306x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Melody | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 114,914 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 3,095 | 21 | 19,840 |
Melody's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Melody's full recorded timeline at 1974, 63% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 37% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1920, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2025 peak of 3,095 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Melody popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1914–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 3,095
- Annual births at peak, across 112 years of records
Melody popularity over time - boys
170 total births recorded since 1957 (Melody as boys' name)
Melody by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (19,879 births, 17% of the file).
2010s was Melody's strongest decade.
19,879 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 17% of all-time use.
Melody births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 7
1910s
7 births
- 1920s 42
1920s
42 births
- 1930s 169
1930s
169 births
- 1940s 3,757
1940s
3,757 births
- 1950s
1950s
15,526 births
- 1960s
1960s
18,469 births
- 1970s
1970s
12,302 births
- 1980s
1980s
10,375 births
- 1990s 7,527
1990s
7,527 births
- 2000s
2000s
10,848 births
- 2010s
2010s
19,879 births
- 2020s
2020s
16,013 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 19,879 births (17% of all-time use).
How Melody 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 Melody's total volume
Melody by state
Where Melody concentrates geographically, total births since 1914
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 18,113 | 15.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 10,852 | 9.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 6,550 | 5.7% |
| #4 | Florida | | 5,500 | 4.8% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 5,148 | 4.5% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 4,820 | 4.2% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 3,871 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 3,562 | 3.1% |
18,113 of 114,914 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Melody appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Melody? ▼
Where does Melody sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Melody most popular? ▼
Where is Melody most popular? ▼
How long has the name Melody been used? ▼
What names are similar to Melody? ▼
What to do with Melody's data
- Melody's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (19,879 total births) through the 2020s (16,013) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Melodys (18,113 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 Melody
Nearby Names Like Melody
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Melody
Compare Melody side by side: Melody vs Melissa Melody vs Melanie Melody vs Melinda
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Melody
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Melody: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
Similar record span (~111 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, 1914–2025 (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 Melody 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.