Girl · Greek
Melanie
Say it: MEL-uh-nee
Meaning
From Greek melaina 'black, dark'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Spread through the two Roman saints Melania and became popular in France and later the US.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 1970s
In the United States
- 252,378 babies given this name since 1886
- At its height in 1973, about 1 in 240 girls
- 2,501 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Melany, Melania
| Greek | Melania |
|---|---|
| French | Mélanie |
| Italian | Melania |
| Polish | Melania |
| English | Melanie |
Famous bearers
- Saint Melania the Elder
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.