2000
#11,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,527
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Melby
A habitational surname derived from places in Denmark and Norway, likely referring to a farmstead or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,754 Americans carry the last name Melby. That puts it at #12,349 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,457 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Melby surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 124,457
Census rank
#12,349
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,402 bearers of the surname Melby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12349th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Melby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Melby
The surname Melby has its origins in Scandinavia, specifically Norway. It is believed to have originated as a place name, referring to a farm or hamlet located near the town of Meløy in the county of Nordland. The name itself is derived from the Old Norse words "mel" meaning "sand" and "øy" meaning "island," suggesting that the original settlement was situated on a sandy island or near the coast.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Melby can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, a person named Thorstein Melby is mentioned in a document from the year 1303, suggesting that the name was already in use by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Melby name appeared in various records and manuscripts, often associated with individuals from the northern regions of Norway. For instance, a man named Olav Melby was listed as a landowner in the Sunnfjord region in the 14th century.
As people migrated and settled in different parts of Scandinavia and beyond, the Melby name spread to other regions. In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Peder Melby (1520-1588) was a Lutheran minister and theologian who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Denmark.
Another notable individual with the Melby surname was Hans Melby (1618-1693), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who was instrumental in establishing trade routes between Norway and the Netherlands during the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Niels Melby (1820-1892) was a Norwegian poet and novelist known for his works that depicted life in rural Norway. His contemporary, Edvard Melby (1838-1911), was a respected historian and archivist who made significant contributions to the preservation of Norwegian historical records.
One of the earliest known instances of the Melby name appearing in a place name is the village of Melby in the municipality of Alstahaug, located in Nordland county, Norway. This village likely derives its name from the original settlement that gave rise to the surname.
While the Melby surname has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, the majority of individuals bearing this name can trace their ancestry back to the coastal regions of northern Norway, where the name originated centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melby
Among Census respondents with the surname Melby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Melby bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Melby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 2,222
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 82
- Two or more races2.7% · 65
- Black or African American0.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Melby
Melby appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,762
+235 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 26 places
2020
#12,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,402
-360 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 938 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,437 | 2,527 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,411 | 2,762 | 0.94 | +235 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 26 places |
| 2020 | #12,349 | 2,402 | 0.80 | -360 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 938 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Melby surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,411 | #12,349 | -8.2% |
| Count | 2,762 | 2,402 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.80 | -14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Melby bearers went from 2,762 to 2,402 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 938 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,411 to #12,349.
FAQ
Melby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Melby?
Name Census estimates that about 2,754 living Americans carry the surname Melby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,457 residents.
How common is Melby?
Melby ranks #12,349 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,402 people with the surname Melby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,754), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Melby.
Has Melby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Melby went from 2,762 recorded bearers to 2,402. That is a decrease of 360 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,411 to #12,349.
What does the Census say about the background of Melby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Melby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Melby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,222 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Melby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Melby (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Melby mean?
A habitational surname derived from places in Denmark and Norway, likely referring to a farmstead or village. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Melby (0.80 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Melby?
You can see how common the surname Melby is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.