Melvyn

Where Melvyn comes from

Melvyn hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1901
    Melvyn Douglas born
    American actor
  2. 1912
    First appearance
    #2,544 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1938
    Peak, #323
    293 babies named Melvyn — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1944
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #658.
  5. 1997
    Melvyn Richardson born
    French handball player
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Melvyn Douglas · American actor, 1901–1981
  • Melvyn Richardson · French handball player, born 1997
  • Melvyn Bragg · British broadcaster and author, born 1939
  • Melvyn Goldstein · American anthropologist, born 1938
  • Melvyn Gale · British musician, born 1952

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.