Meltem
A feminine Turkish name meaning "gentle breeze".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Meltem. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meltem today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meltem births was 1996 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meltem. 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 Meltem. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1996
5 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,973
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Meltem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meltem from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Meltem 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 Meltem 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 Meltem
The given name Meltem is derived from the Turkish language and is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages, around the 15th or 16th century. It is a feminine name that means "gentle breeze" or "soft wind" in Turkish, reflecting the language's deep cultural ties to the natural world.
Meltem is thought to have its roots in the Persian word "meltem," which also means "gentle breeze." This word likely found its way into the Turkish language during the Ottoman Empire's dominance in the region, when Persian cultural influences were strong.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Meltem can be traced back to Ottoman-era records and documents, though specific examples are scarce due to the limited preservation of historical records from that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Meltem. One of the earliest recorded was Meltem Hatun (1460-1525), a Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Mehmed II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1444 to 1481.
Another prominent figure with this name was Meltem Sultan (1497-1561), an Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Bayezid II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. She is known for her patronage of the arts and her support of various charitable endeavors.
In more modern times, Meltem Cumbul (born 1976) is a prominent Turkish actress and singer who has appeared in numerous films and television shows. She is widely recognized for her talent and has received several awards and accolades throughout her career.
Meltem Arıkan (born 1964) is a Turkish writer and academic who has published several novels and works of non-fiction. Her writing often explores themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
Meltem Demirors (born 1987) is a Turkish-American entrepreneur and investor who is widely recognized in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. She co-founded CoinShares, one of the leading digital asset management firms, and has been a prominent voice advocating for the adoption of blockchain technology.
People
Meltem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meltem 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
Meltem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meltem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meltem 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Meltem a common name?
We classify Meltem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meltem most popular?
The single biggest year for Meltem was 1996, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meltem is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Meltem a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meltem 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.
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.