How popular is the name Melanie?

Melanie ranks 149th among girls' names in US records, with 291,249 births since 1886. Over the past decade it accounts for 35,336.

Is Melanie a unisex name?

No. Melanie is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

1972, when 6,492 children were given the name. It has been in use for 139 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Melany. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Girl name#149 of girl names

Pronounced M EH1 L AH0 N IY0 (ARPABET)

Melanie is a girls' name, and first appears in 1886. It has been given to 291,249 children — the 149th most common girls' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 24% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1972, when 6,492 children were given it.

Melany is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

1972Girls: 6,492Boys: 24

These spellings sound identical to Melanie and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Melanie?: Melanie ranks 149th among girls' names in US records, with 291,249 births since 1886. Over the past decade it accounts for 35,336.
Is Melanie a unisex name?: No. Melanie is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Melanie most popular?: 1972, when 6,492 children were given the name. It has been in use for 139 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Melanie spelled?: Melany. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.