Melanie
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Meaning
"black, dark," from melaina; two Roman saints carried it, France kept it alive, and Gone with the Wind's gentle Melanie introduced it to American parents. Soft, dusky, and warmer than its meaning
Goes by Mel. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva.
The story
Melanie descends from the Greek melas, black or dark, through Melania, a name borne by two early Roman saints, a grandmother and granddaughter who gave away one of the empire's great fortunes. French speakers polished it into Melanie, and it reached English use by way of France, but its American life truly began with a book: Gone with the Wind arrived in 1936 with the gentle Melanie Wilkes as its moral center, and the name started climbing within a decade; no one can prove the novel did it, but the timing is hard to ignore. It rose steadily to a strong run in the 1970s, stayed comfortably in use afterward, and then delivered a surprise: its best decade on record turned out to be the 2010s, helped perhaps by how easily it travels between English and Spanish. Some classics simply refuse to finish their story.
How popular is Melanie around the world?
In the United States, 13,337 babies were named Melanie between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 53 girls named Melanie were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Melanie is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Mexico City, Austria, Chile, Argentina, Norway, Canada, Spain, England and Wales, Ireland, Poland, Brazil and France.
Melanie crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 1,600
In the United States, 13,337 babies were named Melanie between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Melanie peaked in the 2010s. Melanie went to 3,497 US babies in 2015 and 2,074 in 2025, 59% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 4602011
In Montevideo, 53 girls named Melanie were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 81 registrations of Melanie in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (5 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 4,500
In Austria, 17 girls named Melanie were born in 2025, the 311th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Chile
1 in 5,100
In Chile, 35 girls were registered as Melanie in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 5,300
In Argentina, 126 newborns were given the name Melanie in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Norway
1 in 5,300register 2026
In Norway, 5 girls were given the name Melanie in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Canada
1 in 7,300
In Canada, 50 girls named Melanie were born in 2024, the 578th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 13,000
In Spain, 3,437 residents are named Melanie, the 626th most common name among women, with a mean age of 28.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
England and Wales
1 in 14,000
In England and Wales, 41 girls named Melanie were born in 2025, the 863rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Melanie were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Poland
1 in 82,000
In Poland, 3 girls named Melanie were born in 2025, the 583rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Melanie, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 91,000
At the 2022 census, 2,171 people in Brazil were named Melanie, ranked 4,837th, with a median age of 12.
Among people named Melanie living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 358 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Melanie were born in 2025, ranked 6,118th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Melanie, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Melanie is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2012
Melanie is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2023
Melanie is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 1,309 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Scotland
last on record 2021
Melanie is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2016
Melanie is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
When you meet Melanie
Most people given the name Melanie in the United States were born between 1960 and 2009. The Melanie you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Melanie · Names that go with Melanie · Nicknames for Melanie · Middle names for Melanie · Names of founders and builders · Climbers and fallers
The Melanie deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Melanie truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Melanie fits with your family’s names and surname.
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