Melina
Meaning
elaboration of Mel, from names such as Melissa or the Greek meli, "honey"
The story
Melina is an elaboration of Mel, Behind the Name says, either from names such as Melissa or from the Greek meli, "honey", and its most famous bearer was the Greek-American actress Melina Mercouri. The American records show a slow sweet build: a few dozen a decade in the early century, about 620 in the 1960s, about 3,100 in the 1990s, about 5,400 in the 2000s, and about 2,700 so far this decade. The livelier story is Brazilian: about 17,800 in the census with a median age of five, about 6,900 of them born in the 2020s already, with years of the decade still to run. An old Greek sweetness having its newest moment in Portuguese, which seems exactly right for a name that may carry honey in its root.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Melina peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
17,927 people · the #1,141 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 11,364 · median age 5
Among people named Melina living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 6,915 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Melina
Most people given the name Melina in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Melina deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Melina 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 Melina fits with your family’s names and surname.
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