Meliana
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "dark" or "black".
Name Census estimates that about 187 living Americans carry the first name Meliana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meliana today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meliana births was 2020 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meliana. 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
187
~ 1 in 1,832,911 Americans
Peak year
2020
18 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,114
Tracked since 2005
Census
Meliana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 211 people with the first name Meliana, which placed it at #37,164 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
#37,164
National first-name rank
People counted
211
211 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meliana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meliana is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.9%) and Black (13.3%). 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 Meliana 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 Meliana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.0% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.9% · 44
- Black or African American13.3% · 28
- White11.8% · 25
- Two or more races8.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Meliana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meliana from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Meliana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meliana 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 Meliana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melianas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meliana
The name Meliana is believed to have its origins in the Greek language, stemming from the Greek words "meli" meaning "honey" and "ana" meaning "flower". This suggests that the name may have been derived to mean "honey flower" or "sweet flower". The name can be traced back to ancient Greek culture, with the earliest known references dating back to the 5th century BC.
In Greek mythology, there are mentions of a nymph named Meliana who was said to be a companion of the goddess Artemis. This mythological figure was often depicted as a beautiful and graceful being, associated with nature and the wilderness. The name Meliana may have been inspired by this mythical character, representing the ideals of beauty, grace, and a connection with the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meliana can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a woman by this name in his historical accounts from the 5th century BC. However, details about this individual are scarce, and the context in which her name was mentioned is uncertain.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Meliana. In the 3rd century AD, there was a Roman Catholic saint named Meliana, who was martyred during the persecution of Christians under the reign of Emperor Decius. Her feast day is celebrated on September 26th in the Catholic Church.
In the 12th century, there was a Byzantine noblewoman named Meliana Komnene, who was a member of the influential Komnenos dynasty. She was known for her involvement in the political intrigues of the Byzantine court during the reign of her brother, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
During the Renaissance period, there was an Italian poet and humanist named Meliana Margherita Salviati (1472-1538), who was renowned for her literary works and her patronage of the arts. She was also a member of the influential Salviati family in Florence.
In the 19th century, there was a French artist and sculptor named Meliana Lebrun (1820-1892), who was known for her portraiture and her work in the Neoclassical style. She was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and had several of her works displayed in the Louvre Museum.
Another notable individual with the name Meliana was Meliana Ramos (1905-1978), a Mexican actress and singer who was popular during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She appeared in numerous films and stage productions throughout her career and was celebrated for her talent and charm.
People
Meliana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meliana 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
Meliana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meliana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 187 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meliana 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 1,832,911 US residents.
Is Meliana a common name?
We classify Meliana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meliana most popular?
The single biggest year for Meliana was 2020, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meliana is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meliana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 211 people with the name Meliana, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,164 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 Meliana 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 Meliana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meliana appears almost entirely female. Of the 213 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 Meliana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meliana is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.9%) and Black (13.3%). 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 Meliana most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Meliana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.0% (95 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 Meliana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meliana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meliana 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 Meliana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meliana 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 Meliana 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 have the name Meliana?
See how many people have the name Meliana on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.