Melanie

Where Melanie comes from

From French Mélanie, from Latin Melania, the name of two Roman fifth century saints, from Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black, dark”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Melanie
  • Ancient Greek
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Melanie through the years
  1. 1882
    Melanie Klein born
    British Austrian born psychoanalyst
  2. 1886
    First appearance
    #828 among girls with 8 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1939
    Around this time: Gone with the Wind
    Film, 1939 · Source
  4. 1957
    Melanie Griffith born
    American actress
  5. 1972
    Peak, #42
    6,296 babies named Melanie, the most in any year.
  6. 1985
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #88.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Namesakes
  • Melanie Griffith · American actress, born 1957
  • Melanie Klein · British Austrian born psychoanalyst, 1882–1960
  • Melanie Martinez · American singer-songwriter, born 1995
  • Melanie C · British pop singer, born 1974
  • Melanie Brown · British singer and television personality, born 1975

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record. Events show what happened around then, not why parents chose the name.