Melany
A variant feminine form of the Greek name Melania, meaning "dark-skinned."
Name Census estimates that about 16,196 living Americans carry the first name Melany. It sits at #438 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melany today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melany births was 2007 (776 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melany. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Melany with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 21,163 Americans
Peak year
2007
776 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2006 SSA rank
#438
Tracked since 1942
Census
Melany in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,513 people with the first name Melany, which placed it at #2,135 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,135
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,513 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
78.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melany
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melany is Hispanic at 78.0%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Black (1.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Melany described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Melany at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino78.0% · 9,762
- White17.5% · 2,192
- Black or African American1.9% · 242
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 199
- Two or more races0.7% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 26
Gender
Gender distribution for Melany
Out of the 16,600 babies given the name Melany since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Melany as a male name
- Ranked #13,348 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Melany as a female name
- Ranked #438 in 2024
- 707 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (776 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melany appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,514 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Melany: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melany from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6,263 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Melany remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melany 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 Melany during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melanys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Melany, while Mississippi, District of Columbia, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 365 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melany
The name Melany has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the word "melaina," which means "dark" or "black." This name's roots can be traced back to ancient Greek culture, where it was likely used to describe someone with dark features or hair color.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to the name Melaina as a minor goddess associated with the underworld and the night. However, the exact connection between this mythological figure and the modern name Melany is unclear.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Melany can be found in medieval European records, particularly in England and France, where it was spelled variations such as Melanie, Melaina, and Melanie. During this period, the name gained popularity among aristocratic families, possibly due to its association with Greek roots and perceived sophistication.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Melany was Melania the Elder (circa 350-410 AD), a Roman Christian saint and desert nun who lived in Egypt. She was known for her ascetic lifestyle and influential teachings on Christian spirituality.
Another famous bearer of the name was Melania the Younger (circa 383-439 AD), the granddaughter of Melania the Elder. She was a Roman aristocrat who renounced her wealth and devoted her life to charity and Christian service.
In the medieval period, Melany of Guelders (1389-1439) was a German noblewoman and the Countess of Zutphen. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Low Countries during her lifetime.
During the Renaissance, the Italian artist Melania Beguine (active in the late 15th century) gained recognition for her religious paintings and frescoes in churches across northern Italy.
In more recent history, Melany Woodard (1928-2015) was an American actress and dancer known for her roles in several Broadway productions and television shows in the mid-20th century.
Throughout its long history, the name Melany has maintained a sense of elegance and sophistication, likely due to its Greek origins and association with notable figures from various eras. While its popularity has fluctuated over time, it continues to be a distinctive and culturally rich name choice.
People
Melany + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melany 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
Melany: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melany?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melany 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 21,163 US residents.
Is Melany a common name?
We classify Melany as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,600 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melany most popular?
The single biggest year for Melany was 2007, when 776 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melany is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Melany in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,513 people with the name Melany, or 4.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,135 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Melany in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Melany?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melany appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,514 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Melany?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melany is Hispanic at 78.0%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Black (1.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Melany most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Melany in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (9,762 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Melany in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melany a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melany 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.
Is Melany still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melany in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Melany can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Melany?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.