Melayna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Melanie.
Name Census estimates that about 522 living Americans carry the first name Melayna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melayna today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melayna births was 2006 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melayna. 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
522
~ 1 in 656,618 Americans
Peak year
2006
41 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,623
Tracked since 1991
Census
Melayna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 479 people with the first name Melayna, which placed it at #21,270 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
#21,270
National first-name rank
People counted
479
479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melayna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melayna is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Melayna 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 Melayna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.3% · 289
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 105
- Two or more races9.4% · 45
- Black or African American6.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Popularity
Melayna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melayna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 247 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
Melayna 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 Melayna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melaynas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Melayna, while Illinois, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melayna
The name Melayna has its roots in the Greek language and culture, originating from the Greek word "melaina," which means "black" or "dark." This name is believed to have emerged during the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, there are several references to characters with names related to the word "melaina." One notable example is Melanippe, a princess of Thebes who was loved by the god Poseidon. The name Melanippe is derived from the Greek words "melas" (black) and "hippos" (horse), suggesting a connection to dark-colored horses.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Melayna can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire, where it was sometimes used as a feminine form of the male name Melanus. During this period, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name was popular among Greek-speaking populations in the eastern Mediterranean region.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Melayna or its variations. One of the earliest recorded was Melayna of Ephesus, a Greek poet and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. Her works, unfortunately, have been lost to time, but she was celebrated for her wisdom and literary achievements during her lifetime.
Another notable figure was Melayna the Younger, a Byzantine princess and scholar who lived in the 11th century CE. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her extensive library, which was considered one of the most impressive collections of its time.
In the realm of religious history, there was Melayna of Alexandria, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE. She was revered for her unwavering faith and her willingness to face persecution during the Roman Empire's persecution of Christians.
Moving forward in time, Melayna Kordatos was a Greek Renaissance painter born in the late 15th century. She was one of the few female artists of her era to achieve notable recognition for her work, which included religious scenes and portraits.
Lastly, Melayna Kastellorizou was a Greek revolutionary and freedom fighter who played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. She is celebrated as a symbol of courage and patriotism in Greek history.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the name Melayna throughout the centuries, each leaving their unique mark on the world in their respective fields and eras.
People
Melayna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melayna 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
Melayna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melayna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 522 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melayna 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 656,618 US residents.
Is Melayna a common name?
We classify Melayna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 530 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melayna most popular?
The single biggest year for Melayna was 2006, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melayna 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 Melayna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 479 people with the name Melayna, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,270 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 Melayna 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 Melayna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melayna appears almost entirely female. Of the 487 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Melayna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melayna is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Melayna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Melayna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.3% (289 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 Melayna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melayna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melayna 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 Melayna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melayna 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 Melayna 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 many people are called Melayna?
Find out how many people have the name Melayna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.