2000
#14,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,898
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Melia
Derived from the Greek word for "honey," likely referring to someone who kept bees or sold honey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,251 Americans carry the last name Melia. That puts it at #14,581 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,268 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Melia 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Melia with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 152,268
Census rank
#14,581
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,963 bearers of the surname Melia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14581st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Melia, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Melia
The surname Melia is believed to have originated in Italy during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "mel," which means honey, suggesting that the name may have been associated with beekeeping or honey production in its early history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Melia surname can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of historical documents from the region of Bari in southern Italy, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the name may have its roots in this area.
In the 13th century, the Melia surname appears in records from the town of Catania in Sicily, where it is believed to be connected to the noble Melia family, which held land and titles in the region during that time.
The Melia surname gained prominence in the 15th century with the birth of Antonio Melia (1445-1519), a renowned Italian jurist and legal scholar from Naples. His works on Roman law and legal theory were highly influential during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure with the Melia surname was Girolamo Melia (1590-1663), an Italian architect and engineer from Palermo, Sicily. He was responsible for the design and construction of several important buildings and fortifications in the city, including the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) and the Porta Felice (Felice Gate).
In the 19th century, the Melia surname is associated with Francesco Melia (1801-1886), an Italian politician and lawyer from Palermo. He served as a member of the Sicilian Parliament and played a significant role in the political and social reforms of the region during the Risorgimento period.
Throughout its history, the Melia surname has also been connected to various place names and older spellings, such as Melia, Mella, and Mellia. These variations may have emerged due to regional dialects or variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melia
Among Census respondents with the surname Melia, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Melia 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 Melia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 1,416
- Hispanic or Latino24.2% · 475
- Two or more races2.0% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Melia
Melia 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
#12,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,509
+611 bearers (+32.2%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 2,037 places
2020
#14,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,963
-546 bearers (-21.8%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 2,186 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,432 | 1,898 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,395 | 2,509 | 0.85 | +611 bearers (+32.2%) | Up 2,037 places |
| 2020 | #14,581 | 1,963 | 0.66 | -546 bearers (-21.8%) | Down 2,186 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 Melia 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 | #12,395 | #14,581 | -17.6% |
| Count | 2,509 | 1,963 | -21.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.66 | -22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Melia bearers went from 2,509 to 1,963 (-21.8% change). The surname moved down 2,186 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,395 to #14,581.
FAQ
Melia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Melia?
Name Census estimates that about 2,251 living Americans carry the surname Melia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,268 residents.
How common is Melia?
Melia ranks #14,581 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,963 people with the surname Melia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Melia.
Has Melia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Melia went from 2,509 recorded bearers to 1,963. That is a decrease of 546 (-21.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,395 to #14,581.
What does the Census say about the background of Melia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Melia, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Melia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (1,416 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Melia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Hispanic (24.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Melia (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 Melia mean?
Derived from the Greek word for "honey," likely referring to someone who kept bees or sold honey. 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 Melia (0.66 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 Americans have the surname Melia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.