Melodie
A feminine name from French of Greek origin meaning "song" or "melody."
Name Census estimates that about 8,803 living Americans carry the first name Melodie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Melodie today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Melodie births was 1956 (409 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Melodie. 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 Melodie with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.8K
~ 1 in 38,936 Americans
Peak year
1956
409 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,811
Tracked since 1933
Census
Melodie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,541 people with the first name Melodie, which placed it at #2,742 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
#2,742
National first-name rank
People counted
8.5K
8,541 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melodie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melodie is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (9.2%). 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 Melodie 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 Melodie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.9% · 6,138
- Black or African American10.6% · 902
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 787
- Two or more races4.1% · 354
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 276
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 84
Popularity
Melodie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Melodie from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,352 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Melodie 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 Melodie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Melodies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Melodie, while Mississippi, Maine, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 152 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Melodie
The name Melodie is derived from the Greek word "melos", meaning song or melody. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, where music and poetry played a significant role in the cultural and artistic traditions.
In ancient times, the concept of melody was closely associated with the muses, the nine goddesses who presided over different arts and sciences. The muse Euterpe was the patron of music, and her name literally translates to "she who delights well." It is believed that the name Melodie emerged as a way to honor the muse and celebrate the beauty of music.
The earliest recorded use of the name Melodie dates back to the Middle Ages, when it appeared in various literary works and historical records. One notable example is Melodie, a 13th-century French poem written by Guillaume de Machaut, a renowned composer and poet of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Melodie. One of the earliest documented examples is Melodie de Provence (1195-1249), a French noblewoman and troubadour from the region of Provence. Her poetic works and contributions to the development of courtly love literature have been widely celebrated.
In the 16th century, Melodie de Valois (1520-1572) was a French princess and renowned patron of the arts. She played a significant role in promoting and supporting the development of music, literature, and other forms of artistic expression during the Renaissance period.
Melodie Lusztig (1629-1704) was a German composer and musician who lived during the Baroque era. She is remembered for her contributions to the development of instrumental music, particularly her compositions for the viola da gamba.
Melodie Duarte (1744-1818) was a Spanish poet and playwright who gained recognition for her works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her poetry was widely celebrated and influenced many writers of her time.
In the 19th century, Melodie Cartier (1867-1949) was a French artist known for her impressionist paintings. Her vibrant depictions of landscapes and scenes from daily life captured the essence of the Impressionist movement and earned her widespread acclaim.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Melodie throughout history. The name's connection to music, poetry, and the arts has endured across various cultures and time periods, making it a timeless choice that evokes a sense of beauty, creativity, and harmony.
People
Melodie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Melodie 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
Melodie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Melodie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,803 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Melodie 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 38,936 US residents.
Is Melodie a common name?
We classify Melodie as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Melodie most popular?
The single biggest year for Melodie was 1956, when 409 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Melodie is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Melodie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,541 people with the name Melodie, or 2.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,742 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 Melodie 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 Melodie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Melodie appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,549 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Melodie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Melodie is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (9.2%). 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 Melodie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Melodie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (6,138 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 Melodie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Melodie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Melodie 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 Melodie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Melodie 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 Melodie 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 Melodie?
Find out how many Americans are named Melodie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.