Melana
Feminine name of unknown origin, possibly meaning "black" or "dark".
Name Census estimates that about 784 living Americans carry the first name Melana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melana today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melana births was 2004 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
784
~ 1 in 437,187 Americans
Peak year
2004
71 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,997
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Melana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melana from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 275 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Melana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Melana, while Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melana
The name Melana is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "melaina," which means "black" or "dark." It is believed to have been used as a descriptive name, perhaps referring to the dark hair or complexion of the person bearing the name.
In ancient Greek mythology, Melana was the name of one of the Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. The Oceanids were minor deities who presided over the fresh waters of the earth, such as rivers, streams, and springs.
The earliest recorded use of the name Melana dates back to the 5th century BC, when it appeared in ancient Greek writings and inscriptions. One notable bearer of the name was Melana of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century BC and is said to have been a student of the renowned philosopher Pythagoras.
In the 1st century AD, Melana was the name of a Roman noblewoman and poet who was part of the literary circle of the Emperor Nero. Her poetry, although not widely preserved, was praised by contemporary writers for its elegance and wit.
During the Byzantine Empire, Melana Komnene was a prominent figure in the 12th century. She was a member of the influential Komnenos dynasty and served as a courtier and adviser to the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Another historical figure with the name Melana was Melana of Trebizond, a Greek princess from the Empire of Trebizond in the 14th century. She is known for her role in negotiating a peace treaty between the Empire of Trebizond and the Ottoman Empire.
In more recent history, Melana Stanton (1858-1935) was an American suffragist and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was a prominent speaker and organizer for the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
People
Melana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Melana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 784 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 437,187 US residents.
Is Melana a common name?
We classify Melana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 836 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melana most popular?
The single biggest year for Melana was 2004, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melana is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Melana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.