Meline
A feminine name of Armenian origin meaning "honeybee".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Meline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meline today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meline births was 1990 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meline. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Meline. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
1990
9 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,661
Tracked since 1959
Census
Meline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 561 people with the first name Meline, which placed it at #19,036 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
#19,036
National first-name rank
People counted
561
561 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meline is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Meline 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 Meline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 392
- Hispanic or Latino15.3% · 86
- Black or African American8.7% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 18
- Two or more races1.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Popularity
Meline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meline from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 31 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meline 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 Meline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meline
The name Meline is of Armenian origin, derived from the Armenian word "mel" which means "honey" or "sweet". This name has its roots in the ancient Armenian culture and language, which dates back to the 5th century BC.
The name Meline gained popularity in Armenia during the Middle Ages, particularly among the noble and upper-class families. It was often given to daughters as a symbol of sweetness, gentleness, and beauty.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Meline can be found in the Armenian epic poem "Daredevils of Sassoun", which dates back to the 8th century AD. In this epic, Meline is the name of a beautiful and virtuous princess.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Meline. One of the earliest was Meline Ter-Petrosyan, an Armenian poet and writer who lived in the 17th century. She is known for her lyrical poetry and her contribution to the Armenian literary tradition.
Another famous Meline was Meline Calfa, an Armenian philanthropist and educator who lived in the late 19th century. She was instrumental in establishing schools and educational institutions for Armenian children in the Ottoman Empire.
In the early 20th century, Meline Yesayan was a prominent Armenian writer and activist. Her works focused on the struggles of Armenian women and the Armenian Genocide. She was born in 1896 and died in 1935.
Meline Toumani is a contemporary Armenian-American writer and journalist. She is best known for her memoir "There Was and There Was Not", which explores her family's history and the Armenian diaspora. She was born in 1969 and is still active today.
Meline Daluzyan is a contemporary Armenian opera singer who has performed on stages around the world. She was born in 1986 and is widely regarded as one of the finest sopranos of her generation.
While the name Meline has its roots in Armenian culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with Armenian heritage or connections to the Armenian diaspora. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the rich culture and traditions of the Armenian people.
People
Meline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meline 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
Meline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meline 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Meline a common name?
We classify Meline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 90 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meline most popular?
The single biggest year for Meline was 1990, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meline is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 561 people with the name Meline, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,036 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 Meline 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 Meline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meline appears almost entirely female. Of the 564 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Meline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meline is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Meline most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (392 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 Meline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meline 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 Meline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meline 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 Meline 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 Meline as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.