Melva
Melva was last recorded in 2024, when 5 babies were given it; 14,185 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,420 Americans named Melva and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (38% of everyone recorded); the median is 73 years old and half are between 62 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Melva by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Melva mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Melva is “a female given name.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Melva?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #16,873, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
313 babies in 1938, the peak
Melva peaked in 1938, when 313 babies were given it (308 girls, #378 among girls’ names). It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | #16,873 | under 0.01 |
| 2017 | 5 | #17,571 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 5 | #18,333 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 6 | #15,893 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 6 | #16,879 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 7 | #14,599 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 7 | #13,987 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #13,715 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 7 | #12,666 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 5 | #16,009 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 8 | #10,450 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 9 | #9,302 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,514 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 10 | #8,561 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,843 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 8 | #10,112 | under 0.01 |
| 1991 | 21 | #4,745 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 29 | #3,679 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 17 | #5,196 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 21 | #4,256 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,492 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 17 | #4,662 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 14 | #5,240 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 22 | #3,678 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 30 | #2,884 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 23 | #3,605 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 34 | #2,700 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 53 | #2,000 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 54 | #1,940 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 41 | #2,264 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 50 | #1,966 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 40 | #2,160 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 48 | #1,892 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 60 | #1,591 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 56 | #1,636 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 60 | #1,554 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 88 | #1,260 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 57 | #1,647 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 85 | #1,210 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 68 | #1,360 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 79 | #1,201 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 96 | #1,074 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 110 | #993 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 107 | #1,050 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 101 | #1,079 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 123 | #959 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 123 | #975 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 149 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 124 | #942 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 164 | #781 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 185 | #737 | 0.09 |
| 1956 | 201 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1955 | 193 | #675 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 207 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1953 | 208 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1952 | 224 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1951 | 253 | #522 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 218 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1949 | 235 | #546 | 0.14 |
| 1948 | 210 | #578 | 0.12 |
| 1947 | 247 | #536 | 0.14 |
| 1946 | 224 | #524 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 233 | #470 | 0.18 |
| 1944 | 220 | #482 | 0.17 |
| 1943 | 283 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1942 | 264 | #455 | 0.20 |
| 1941 | 262 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 290 | #401 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 280 | #402 | 0.26 |
| 1938 | 308 | #378 | 0.28 |
| 1937 | 300 | #372 | 0.28 |
| 1936 | 274 | #386 | 0.26 |
| 1935 | 276 | #382 | 0.26 |
| 1934 | 246 | #418 | 0.24 |
| 1933 | 244 | #407 | 0.24 |
| 1932 | 296 | #378 | 0.28 |
| 1931 | 277 | #393 | 0.26 |
| 1930 | 258 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1929 | 300 | #389 | 0.27 |
| 1928 | 276 | #408 | 0.24 |
| 1927 | 285 | #406 | 0.24 |
| 1926 | 263 | #425 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 276 | #416 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 288 | #408 | 0.23 |
| 1923 | 291 | #390 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 239 | #431 | 0.20 |
| 1921 | 284 | #403 | 0.23 |
| 1920 | 279 | #396 | 0.23 |
| 1919 | 241 | #419 | 0.21 |
| 1918 | 206 | #466 | 0.18 |
| 1917 | 220 | #432 | 0.20 |
| 1916 | 225 | #417 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 207 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 135 | #473 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 117 | #462 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 106 | #463 | 0.19 |
| 1911 | 57 | #572 | 0.14 |
| 1910 | 71 | #482 | 0.18 |
| 1909 | 45 | #577 | 0.13 |
| 1908 | 54 | #497 | 0.16 |
| 1907 | 51 | #504 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 37 | #589 | 0.13 |
| 1905 | 45 | #509 | 0.15 |
| 1904 | 39 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1903 | 36 | #546 | 0.14 |
| 1902 | 29 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 25 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 23 | #772 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 21 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 17 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 16 | #816 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 17 | #806 | 0.07 |
| 1895 | 16 | #808 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 12 | #932 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 10 | #1,000 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 20 | #655 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 9 | #985 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 12 | #810 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 10 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 11 | #823 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 8 | #916 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 5 | #1,002 | 0.04 |
| 1880 | 6 | #807 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Melva a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Melva has been given almost only to girls: 30 boys in 123 years of records.
Girls and boys named Melva: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Melva, and how old are they?
5,420 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 38% of the 14,185 Americans ever recorded as Melva. The median Melva alive today is 73 years old; half are between 62 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 7,590 people named Melva (7,561 women and girls, 29 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,753 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,430 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,650 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 963 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 286 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 46 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 21 |
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 Melva born?
The states with the most babies named Melva are Texas, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Oklahoma is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,568 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 658 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Oklahoma | 641 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| California | 557 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 554 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Ohio | 545 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 484 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 460 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 429 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Kansas | 391 | not ranked | 2.1× |
Where Melva is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Melva is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 2.5 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 Melva 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 15,504 babies since 1880, Melva is the most given (91% of them).
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 Melva
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 Melva and names like it
- Compare Melva and MelviaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sMelva peaked in 1938.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Melva since 1910.
- The top names of 1938The year the most babies were named Melva.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Melva alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.