Mellow
A calm, relaxed or smooth-tempered person or disposition.
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Mellow. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Mellow today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mellow births was 2021 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mellow. 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 Mellow. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
2021
17 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,537
Tracked since 1939
Gender
Gender distribution for Mellow
Mellow is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 54 total registrations, 21 (38.9%) were male and 33 (61.1%) were female.
Mellow as a male name
- Ranked #9,537 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (8 births)
Mellow as a female name
- Ranked #13,007 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2021 (10 births)
Popularity
Mellow: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mellow from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 44 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mellow 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 Mellow during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mellow
The name Mellow has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to around the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "mealu," which means "sweet" or "honey-like." The name was initially used to describe someone with a gentle, easygoing, or sweet temperament.
In the early days of the English language, Mellow was primarily used as a descriptive term rather than a formal name. It wasn't until the late 9th century that the name started appearing in historical records as a given name. One of the earliest recorded instances was Mellow of Wessex, a nobleman who lived during the reign of King Alfred the Great (849-899).
During the Middle Ages, the name Mellow gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes of English society. It was seen as a desirable name, reflecting the virtues of calmness, gentleness, and sweetness of character. Several notable figures bore this name, including Mellow Fitzwilliam (1145-1212), a knight and landowner in Lincolnshire.
As the English language evolved, the spelling of the name Mellow underwent various changes, including Melowe, Mellowe, and Mellou. In the 16th century, the name appeared in the works of renowned English playwright William Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor."
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Mellow was Mellow Carpenter (1605-1668), an English Puritan leader and influential figure during the English Civil War. He played a significant role in the establishment of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell.
Other notable individuals with the name Mellow include Mellow Holworthy (1692-1771), an English clergyman and the first minister of Harvard College in Massachusetts; Mellow Burnham (1744-1816), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler of Vermont; and Mellow Beresford (1768-1851), a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
While the name Mellow has waned in popularity in recent centuries, it remains a unique and intriguing choice, evoking a sense of tranquility and sweetness of character. Its rich historical roots and associations with notable figures from various eras make it a name with a fascinating legacy.
People
Mellow + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mellow 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
Mellow: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mellow?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mellow 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Mellow a common name?
We classify Mellow as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mellow most popular?
The single biggest year for Mellow was 2021, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mellow is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Mellow in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mellow a female name?
Yes, 61.1% of people registered as Mellow 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 Mellow still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mellow 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 Mellow 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Mellow 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.